A Scot on Scotch reviews the inaugural single malt bottling from the new Aberargie Distillery in Perthshire.
The Morrisons of Aberargie
Aberargie might feel like a new name in the Scotch whisky world, but the Perthshire Distillery has an impressive heritage. The distillery is family-owned, founded by the Morrisons, whose connections to the whisky industry date back generations.
As Morrison Bowmore, the family owned and operated the oldest distillery on Islay and served as caretakers of Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch. That business was sold to the Japanese distilling giant Suntory in 1994, but the Morrisons weren’t done. One branch of the family headed to Ayrshire, to establish A. D. Rattray in Kirkoswald, and, later, the Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow, whilst the other went to Perthshire, to create Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, formerly known as Morrison & MacKay.
Morrison SWD are behind the successful Càrn Mòr independent bottling range, Islay single malt Mac-Talla, the Old Perth Blended Malt, and Scotch whisky liqueur, Bruadar. In 2017, they began distilling their own single malt on a family-owned farm in Aberargie, just outside of Perth. The distillery is a complete barley-to-bottle operation, with spirit produced from Laureate and Golden Promise barley, grown on the farm.
Unlike many of Scotland’s new breed of distilleries, Morrison SWD allowed Aberargie to fly under the radar. There was no media circus upon the commencement of production, no big announcement. They just got the distillery up and running and quietly set about the business of making single malt. They also appeared to be in no rush to get bottles onto shelves. The distillery will reach its tenth anniversary next year, and the inaugural release has only just arrived. There’s something I find very satisfying about that lack of fanfare. No need to shout about it, just wait patiently until the whisky is ready and then let the spirit speak for itself.
Aberargie Inaugural Whisky Review
The Aberargie Inaugural consists of whisky made from 48% Laureate and 52% Golden Promise barley. The spirit was matured in both bourbon and sherry casks in a 50/50 split. It’s bottled at 48.2%, non-chill filtered and natural colour.
Tasting notes: A really vibrant nose, with light, fresh fruits, and a touch of acidity – like lime and lemon juice. There’s some grist in there, like nosing muesli. Some sherry, too. First impression on the palate is of oak. There’s a lot of cask action there. Woody with hints of charcoal up front, then the dried fruits of the sherry emerge midway, with oak spice and a touch of black peppery heat coming through on the finish.
Thoughts: It took me a while to get to grips with this one. There’s a natural spiciness to the spirit that I found quite intense. Had I tasted blind, I’d have assumed cask strength, rather than 48.2%. Although that was countered by a pleasing oiliness to the mouthfeel, that I found really satisfying. My initial feeling was of an immature dram being smothered by highly active oak, but with water in the glass and some time to rest, the whisky showed itself in a much better light. The youthful harshness was toned down (though it remained in the background), and more of the fresh fruits from the nose came through on the palate. In fact, the longer it sat in the glass, the better it seemed to get. I don’t really subscribe to the whole “neck pour” idea, but this was a good example of whisky perhaps needing time to breathe when first opened. Some rough edges still suggested a bit of a work in progress, but there’s enough there to suggest we could be in for a treat as this spirit develops further in the months and years ahead.
Price: £65. Young single malt should be affordable, but it’s a debut from a new distillery, and probably quite reasonable in that inflated scenario.
Visit the Aberargie website here
Leave a Reply