Excellent review - great information as always. As someone who hasn't yet tried Welsh whisky, but is interested... how would you compare the character of Aber Falls and Penderyn?
Thanks! I think that are some similarities between this and Penderyn. Unlikely to be because they're made in the same country or matured in the same air etc 🙄 but I do think there are common notes. The big problem for Aber Falls though is that Penderyn Madeira Finish is very often on offer at a similar price in UK supermarkets, its 46% and better. That's the one I'd recommend if you're thinking of giving Welsh a try 🙂
Honestly I didn't expect much either! It exceeded my expectations though 😉 at the end of the day it is still a weak and young whisky buy it shows promise.
Thanks Andy. I'm getting ahead of myself here but a good place to start is the standard Ardnamurchan AD release. Bit of sherry, bit of peat, bit of Malt. It's a great all rounder 👍 and easier to find than some of the others.
@@WhiskyLock Thanks Shane, I will give the Ardnamurchan AD a look. To be fair I have a well stocked shop near me so there really is no excuse, I just need to get on with it.
@@andywalker6908 yes, Ardna classic AD its beautiful dram priced now at £45 so its fantastic value compare to other new youngsters priced mostly £50 + it is must have. Another one worth try is Torabhaig from Skye. Fantastic whisky priced same as Ardna AD. Cheers 😁🥂🙋🏻♂️
I passed on the first release buy I can't recall why. Probably because it was a very young whisky. I think this expression is about getting some exposure. They do have a 46% sherry finish and I hope that is the general direction for them. It's hard to say what the direction or ambition of Welsh distilleries is. I have to say this doesn't seem very exciting. Good review as always.. WT
Young I can deal with (when it's a new distillery) I struggle with the presentation though. I think you're right that this is their attempt at getting their name out there. And it will probably work. I just hope they move on to better things and don't blow through too much of their early stocks trying to fill out supermarket shelves. Fingers crossed! Cheers 🥃
I've been looking at this and wondering how it compares to Penderyn. Morrison's have it for £26 at the moment, so may give it a try. They also have Aerstone Sea Cask 10-y-o on offer at £22 and I've been trying to get hold of a bottle, but they don't seem to be getting it in. They do, however - and oddly - have a fresh batch of their Distiller's Choice Blended Malt, still selling as 'Clearance' for £10 a bottle, so that's a bit of a consolation!
Between Aber Falls and Penderyn Madeira Cask I'd go for the Penderyn. Even if its two or three quid more. It is a better whisky IMHO although this is worth trying too if cheap. I haven't tried any of the Aerstones yet. I'm trying not to flood my channel with cheap 40% reviews 😂
Very interesting to hear your perspective. I enjoyed this one too for what it is. Make sure to get an accurate water dropper if you haven't already. Getting good at adding the right amount of water will open up all those high strength options to you. Cheers 🥃
Yeah I didn't expect that much from the poor presentation. I expect many thousands of potential customers have given it a miss for the same reason. I think it's fine for £20-24 though. Fingers crossed that we'll get a proper 46% version soon.
This cost me $55 Australian, which is well cheap. But I'd rather pay twice as much for a 46% version sans colourant. Not 100% sure this is (very) chill-filtered, because I observed a slight cloudiness with water. In any case, the finish is aldehydal (you're right) and quite bereft of both maltiness and oak. I don't hate it (given that I'm part Welsh), but for me this is ice-cube fodder.
I'd rather pay extra for a proper presentation too. Especially as even at 40% it's not as disappointing as it could be. I hope there'll be more versions at higher strength soon.
I'll be honest Shane I got this on a cracking deal at a local bottling plant "cabin" outside. Rock Island and this for £30. Just couldn't say no as I was looking for a cheap whisky for hot toddies even if it didn't work out good enough. Personally, i found it abit boring, it's only been open 4 days so I'll give it some time before I make final call.. Very green orchard apples and damp oak. Didn't put any water with it but maybe a wee bit would open it up just a tad.
I did find that mine improved noticeably after being open for a while. They've really self sabotaged with that awful presentation though so we shouldn't be expecting miracles. £30 for this and a Rock Island is pretty fair though!
When visiting Aberfalls we were given shot glasses to sample their "whisky" , to try Aberfalls gin tour guide reused same shot glasses :-/ I think it says it all.. out of all the expressions we tried ( we were allowed 2) this one was less bad.
I think that's the one thing that distilleries south of the border could really improve on. In Scotland they don't expect you to taste 5ml of whisky clinging to the sides of a plastic thimble that smells like the cellophane it was packaged in... or to re-use glasses! I had a very similar experience at a distillery in England recently where every dram tasted like the gin that was put in the glass at the beginning of the tasting. They don't realise that to some people whisky really matters. And more importantly, it's their one chance to form our opinion of them that we might hold and spread for life!
we have it for 28 euro per 1L without year of release on the label. I've tried other Welsh whisky, some sherryed Pelenderyn - not the type of whisky I personally like
I always think of Penderyn as a lighter style of whisky, which probably reflects their still setup. Similar theme to Glenmorangie. I enjoy it occasionally but it's obviously not for everyone. Saying that, I think the standard offerings from Penderyn are better than this Aber Falls so far. And the discounted price different isn't that great. All the more reason why Aber Falls should be offering the best presentation that they can...
That's fair. The saving grace IMHO is the this is a very cheap whisky. Around half the price of other new releases. But really, they should be aiming higher than 40% if they want to impress us...
It's a bit sad and a bit worrying. With all the well presented options we have from new distilleries it does seem like they're making life hard for themselves.
noted, I think Aber falll will like people who prefer , ximenez style whisky, personally dont like too, but of cause it s worth its money, just bought it in central Russia for 21 usd
Hi, this company is only 15 minutes drive away for me so like a fool I have bought all their releases to support local companies . INAUGURAL RELEASE ORANGE WINE CASK PX 2021 RELEASE DISTILLERS CUT ORANGE CASK BAROLO DISTILLERS CUT SAUTENES CASK They have brought out a gin release matured in a whisky cask too which I have. They have made a dozen gin releases too. Although I have questions about them, spirit made mostly in Liverpool. Oh and a cooper friend of mine offered his help for free and they refused !!! Nice one Aber Falls, their loss.
Value for money and affordable whisky are definitely important. And what's more, I do recommend this at £20-24. I also hope we get some better presented offerings from Aber Falls though. You can tell from this humble offering that their spirit has the character to justify it.
All I can say it’s not for me! It was a gift so it’s taken in the way it was gifted but I had to check twice that it was a single whisky! I use it with a mixer. My wife likes their gin but I don’t think this whisky does them any favours for their other products.🤷♂️
It's certainly a weird one. I feel like a higher ABV would make it at least an interesting oddity to the enthusiasts. I doubt many casual drinks will like it either way and they're damaging their young reputation for sure. I'm glad to hear that you're finding a use for it though...
I didn't think it was that bad but they're certainly not doing their brand any favours with this one. Risky move and I expect you won't be the only one who won't buy their whisky again 😕
The aber falls standard release is by far the worst whisky we’ve bought … thin, bland & weak! No hints of the sherry casks used in the finishing! Don’t normally diss a dram but this was cr@p! Very nearly went down the plug hole! Sorry!
Yikes! 😬 it is thin and weak for sure. 40% is going to do serious damage to any whisky. I didn't hate it as much as you though and I did pick up on sherry casks despite not knowing that they'd been used. I suspect that a lot of the grassy and meaty notes are coming from sherry casks. True that I didn't detect any stereotypical fruity sherry though. All in all I think it shows potential but I really hope this isn't their end product. Out of all of these new distillery releases I've been working through, this and the Glasgow 1770 are the ones that I didn't find myself going back to and that says something.
@@WhiskyLock thought the initial release from aber falls showed a helluva lot of promise to be fair! Also don’t get on with Glasgow 1770 oddly enough but did enjoy the Summerton club bottle recently! That’s the wonder of this wonderful drink … everyone has different tastes! Slainthe
That's your opinion, what makes us all different is our upbringing and taste buds. Just like pop, some would say root beer (ew not for me) would be the standard for pop. You all should have a night with everclear then we will see how much you really love high % alcohol...
Excellent review - great information as always. As someone who hasn't yet tried Welsh whisky, but is interested... how would you compare the character of Aber Falls and Penderyn?
Thanks! I think that are some similarities between this and Penderyn. Unlikely to be because they're made in the same country or matured in the same air etc 🙄 but I do think there are common notes.
The big problem for Aber Falls though is that Penderyn Madeira Finish is very often on offer at a similar price in UK supermarkets, its 46% and better. That's the one I'd recommend if you're thinking of giving Welsh a try 🙂
@@WhiskyLock Thanks! We will check it out 👍
Oh wow I didn't expect this to make you happy but if you say so then yes sir let's give this one a chance!
Honestly I didn't expect much either! It exceeded my expectations though 😉 at the end of the day it is still a weak and young whisky buy it shows promise.
Thank you for another great review.
Hi Shane, I have enjoyed your new distillery reviews. Sadly I have not tried any of them, I will need to do something to remedy this.
Thanks Andy. I'm getting ahead of myself here but a good place to start is the standard Ardnamurchan AD release. Bit of sherry, bit of peat, bit of Malt. It's a great all rounder 👍 and easier to find than some of the others.
@@WhiskyLock Thanks Shane, I will give the Ardnamurchan AD a look. To be fair I have a well stocked shop near me so there really is no excuse, I just need to get on with it.
@@andywalker6908 yes, Ardna classic AD its beautiful dram priced now at £45 so its fantastic value compare to other new youngsters priced mostly £50 + it is must have. Another one worth try is Torabhaig from Skye. Fantastic whisky priced same as Ardna AD. Cheers 😁🥂🙋🏻♂️
I passed on the first release buy I can't recall why. Probably because it was a very young whisky. I think this expression is about getting some exposure. They do have a 46% sherry finish and I hope that is the general direction for them. It's hard to say what the direction or ambition of Welsh distilleries is. I have to say this doesn't seem very exciting. Good review as always.. WT
Young I can deal with (when it's a new distillery) I struggle with the presentation though. I think you're right that this is their attempt at getting their name out there. And it will probably work. I just hope they move on to better things and don't blow through too much of their early stocks trying to fill out supermarket shelves. Fingers crossed! Cheers 🥃
I've been looking at this and wondering how it compares to Penderyn. Morrison's have it for £26 at the moment, so may give it a try. They also have Aerstone Sea Cask 10-y-o on offer at £22 and I've been trying to get hold of a bottle, but they don't seem to be getting it in. They do, however - and oddly - have a fresh batch of their Distiller's Choice Blended Malt, still selling as 'Clearance' for £10 a bottle, so that's a bit of a consolation!
Between Aber Falls and Penderyn Madeira Cask I'd go for the Penderyn. Even if its two or three quid more. It is a better whisky IMHO although this is worth trying too if cheap.
I haven't tried any of the Aerstones yet. I'm trying not to flood my channel with cheap 40% reviews 😂
I just purchase a bottle of this. By far the best cheap whisky I've tried. $17 where I am.
It's definitely got character and while it's not perfect it is very cheap for what you get. Especially for $17 😳 Cheers 🥃
I bought that whiskey last year and really enjoyed it.
40 percent is fine. I don't like this trend towards higher percentage
Very interesting to hear your perspective. I enjoyed this one too for what it is.
Make sure to get an accurate water dropper if you haven't already. Getting good at adding the right amount of water will open up all those high strength options to you. Cheers 🥃
Been looking at this for a while but was put off by the price and ABV. Appreciate the honest review, I’ll probably pick one up when I see one next.
Yeah I didn't expect that much from the poor presentation. I expect many thousands of potential customers have given it a miss for the same reason. I think it's fine for £20-24 though. Fingers crossed that we'll get a proper 46% version soon.
This cost me $55 Australian, which is well cheap. But I'd rather pay twice as much for a 46% version sans colourant. Not 100% sure this is (very) chill-filtered, because I observed a slight cloudiness with water. In any case, the finish is aldehydal (you're right) and quite bereft of both maltiness and oak. I don't hate it (given that I'm part Welsh), but for me this is ice-cube fodder.
I'd rather pay extra for a proper presentation too. Especially as even at 40% it's not as disappointing as it could be. I hope there'll be more versions at higher strength soon.
I'll be honest Shane I got this on a cracking deal at a local bottling plant "cabin" outside. Rock Island and this for £30. Just couldn't say no as I was looking for a cheap whisky for hot toddies even if it didn't work out good enough. Personally, i found it abit boring, it's only been open 4 days so I'll give it some time before I make final call.. Very green orchard apples and damp oak. Didn't put any water with it but maybe a wee bit would open it up just a tad.
I did find that mine improved noticeably after being open for a while. They've really self sabotaged with that awful presentation though so we shouldn't be expecting miracles. £30 for this and a Rock Island is pretty fair though!
When visiting Aberfalls we were given shot glasses to sample their "whisky" , to try Aberfalls gin tour guide reused same shot glasses :-/ I think it says it all.. out of all the expressions we tried ( we were allowed 2) this one was less bad.
I think that's the one thing that distilleries south of the border could really improve on. In Scotland they don't expect you to taste 5ml of whisky clinging to the sides of a plastic thimble that smells like the cellophane it was packaged in... or to re-use glasses!
I had a very similar experience at a distillery in England recently where every dram tasted like the gin that was put in the glass at the beginning of the tasting.
They don't realise that to some people whisky really matters. And more importantly, it's their one chance to form our opinion of them that we might hold and spread for life!
we have it for 28 euro per 1L without year of release on the label. I've tried other Welsh whisky, some sherryed Pelenderyn - not the type of whisky I personally like
I always think of Penderyn as a lighter style of whisky, which probably reflects their still setup. Similar theme to Glenmorangie. I enjoy it occasionally but it's obviously not for everyone.
Saying that, I think the standard offerings from Penderyn are better than this Aber Falls so far. And the discounted price different isn't that great. All the more reason why Aber Falls should be offering the best presentation that they can...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this whisky.
Have tried it myself and was...er... not impressed.
Slàinte mhath
from your review dont think are be buying it unless i can get it at 46% great review
That's fair. The saving grace IMHO is the this is a very cheap whisky. Around half the price of other new releases. But really, they should be aiming higher than 40% if they want to impress us...
Alas Hells Stone whisky from Cornwall has also gone down this path….
It's a bit sad and a bit worrying. With all the well presented options we have from new distilleries it does seem like they're making life hard for themselves.
this or Crabbie NAS first release?!
Do you mean Yardhead? Yardhead probably. It's the more balanced and... normal dram. Most will prefer it. Aber Falls is charmingly weird though.
noted, I think Aber falll will like people who prefer , ximenez style whisky, personally dont like too, but of cause it s worth its money, just bought it in central Russia for 21 usd
@@alexeygordeyev6511 Good price 👍
yes, ve bought 5 bottles as a gift, 1 ve opened to understand this animal
I dont see on shelves Crabbie 1 rls highland, only redesigned bottles with lowland origin
Hi, this company is only 15 minutes drive away for me so like a fool I have bought all their releases to support local companies . INAUGURAL RELEASE
ORANGE WINE CASK
PX
2021 RELEASE
DISTILLERS CUT ORANGE CASK
BAROLO
DISTILLERS CUT SAUTENES CASK
They have brought out a gin release matured in a whisky cask too which I have. They have made a dozen gin releases too. Although I have questions about them, spirit made mostly in Liverpool. Oh and a cooper friend of mine offered his help for free and they refused !!! Nice one Aber Falls, their loss.
That's sad. I imagine a skilled Cooper is a hard thing to find and getting rarer 😔
@@WhiskyLock In North Wales I know of 2 and both work in different trades now.
👍🏻😁🥃
One of the big reason's MacDonald's got to where they are is because one would get their best bang for their buck
Value for money and affordable whisky are definitely important. And what's more, I do recommend this at £20-24. I also hope we get some better presented offerings from Aber Falls though. You can tell from this humble offering that their spirit has the character to justify it.
All I can say it’s not for me! It was a gift so it’s taken in the way it was gifted but I had to check twice that it was a single whisky! I use it with a mixer. My wife likes their gin but I don’t think this whisky does them any favours for their other products.🤷♂️
It's certainly a weird one. I feel like a higher ABV would make it at least an interesting oddity to the enthusiasts. I doubt many casual drinks will like it either way and they're damaging their young reputation for sure. I'm glad to hear that you're finding a use for it though...
Tesco £20. not bad.
For £20 it's a decent dram. I hope we see this distillery aiming higher with future releases though.
Smells like moonshine, tastes like moonshine. Will never buy again. Very disappointed.
I didn't think it was that bad but they're certainly not doing their brand any favours with this one. Risky move and I expect you won't be the only one who won't buy their whisky again 😕
@WhiskyLock it's a joke mate! I have never drank worse Wiskey, it's should be even called that. All yeast taste...
The aber falls standard release is by far the worst whisky we’ve bought … thin, bland & weak! No hints of the sherry casks used in the finishing! Don’t normally diss a dram but this was cr@p! Very nearly went down the plug hole! Sorry!
Yikes! 😬 it is thin and weak for sure. 40% is going to do serious damage to any whisky. I didn't hate it as much as you though and I did pick up on sherry casks despite not knowing that they'd been used. I suspect that a lot of the grassy and meaty notes are coming from sherry casks. True that I didn't detect any stereotypical fruity sherry though.
All in all I think it shows potential but I really hope this isn't their end product. Out of all of these new distillery releases I've been working through, this and the Glasgow 1770 are the ones that I didn't find myself going back to and that says something.
@@WhiskyLock thought the initial release from aber falls showed a helluva lot of promise to be fair! Also don’t get on with Glasgow 1770 oddly enough but did enjoy the Summerton club bottle recently! That’s the wonder of this wonderful drink … everyone has different tastes! Slainthe
That's your opinion, what makes us all different is our upbringing and taste buds. Just like pop, some would say root beer (ew not for me) would be the standard for pop. You all should have a night with everclear then we will see how much you really love high % alcohol...