Aberargie

I had a small whisky adventure and it lead to me pre-ordering a whisky.
That is right, a pre-order. Because although I did not taste the whisky yet, I became a small fan in just one fun session.
First things first. The title, that is the name of a distillery that has been making whisky since 2017, but never released an edition yet.
The Aberargie inaugural release will be in March 2026.

Deconstructing a dram

A couple of weeks ago, I received an invite by Whisky Import Nederland for an unique event: Getting introduced to the Aberargie distillery.
I joined a group of whisky enthusiasts at Societeit de Dieu in Alkmaar and we were welcomed by Marcel of WIN.
In this intro, it became clear we would not enjoy a dram of the first Aberargie Single Malt expression.
However, Thomas, the representative of the distillery, basically provides us a deconstructed approach to the whisky of Aberargie. First, we were offered two new make samples, to compare. More on that in the next paragraph.
And after those new make samples, which I loved to try next to each other, we got two cask samples, that gave us a clear indication on what the single malt expression of this distillery could be. And I’m here for it!

Playing a little with the drams in my hand, I decided I wanted to get my hands on the first release of this distillery.
So I pre-ordered it.
At the time of publishing this blog, I still have to wait for March to get my hands on that bottle. But I know it is coming!

It starts on a farm

The Aberargie distillery is placed on a piece of land of 300 acres in Perthshire Scotland.
You do not need that amount of land for just a distillery, except when you are growing your own barley there. Which is exactly what they do. And this is where my interest spiked. On those acres they are growing an heritage barley called Golden Promise. This variety of spring barley was introduced in the 1960s in the UK. And although the LPA per ton (Litres of Pure Alcohol) is lower than with other barly varieties, it gives a full body of flavor that gives an unique profile to the whisky.

The whisky itself is a roughly 50-50 mix of two new makes. On 100% Golden Promise barley, the other 100% Laureate barley. A variety with a higher yield in LPAs, but lighter in body and flavor. I mention those LPA’s rather quickly, but to compare: Laureate yields 410 LPA per ton, Golden Promise 370 LPA per ton.
This shows that Aberargie is investing in flavor and quality, not just quantity.

To prove that, during that deconstructed tasting, we got two samples of new make to compare. On of the Laureate barley and one of the Golden Promise barley. For both new makes they use the exact same distilling process, so it is just the barley that is the different ingredient in the process. The samples were diluted to 48,2% so we could safely try and taste them. And what a difference there was between those two!
The Laureate leading to a fresh, floral liquid that was actually really light on the tongue. And next to that the Golden Promise: Full, oily and thick sweet notes. And that was my switch turned off for a couple of minutes.
Friends and other whisky fans present were discussing the samples and I just stood there, sniffing and sipping. Almost missing the fact that we needed to move on with the event and I needed my glasses empty.
I could not get myself to pouring the liquid down a drain to speed up the process of emptying my glasses. So I stood in the back sipping while others rinsed their glasses and were ready for the next phase: Whisky.

Bourbon vs Sherry

On the bar two bottles of whisky were placed. Both at 48.2%Vol. The alcohol percentage the inaugural release will be. One with whisky aged on a bourbon cask and one on a sherry cask. We get a nice sample of each in our glasses and a second silent phase enters the room. The communal quiet is only disturbed by some loud sniffing in a corner and a wet slurping in another corner. We are enjoying this.

Both drams deliver a different effect. I find the bourbon cask to be sweet and soft. A little too soft for me on the nose, but the palate makes up for that. The finish is that of a very minerally dry feeling. Then I switch to the sherry cask aged one: Full on the nose. Rich fruits, some chocolate and thick caramel. That is just the nose. The flavor delivers as well and I quickly take a second sip. This dram funny enough has the same type of finish: Dry and minerals.

Thomas breaks the silence to ask our opinion. Well, I think, this is difficult. We are tasting ingredients. The end product will be a mix of both expressions. And that delivers an idea:
I quickly measure the remains in my glasses an estimate them to be of semi-equal order. So I pour them together in one glass. And I like this mix. The softness of the bourbon cask whisky rubs off on the sherry cask whisky. And the other one delivers a nice punch towards the sweetness the first had. And best of all, the mineral finish changes. Like two negatives make a positive. The dry feeling almost disappears but leaves sweeter notes next to some herbal grasses.

Based on what I tasted, I am looking forward to the inaugural release by Aberargie.
I think their focus on quality by using the Golden Promise barley, the time they give the whisky to age (Almost forgot that. Aberargie started making spirit in 2017. The whisky we tried was at least 7 years old. The whisky in the first expression could be 9 years.) and the unique profile the whisky has is a combination that makes me keep a keen eye on what this distillery will bring out the next years.

A special thanks goes out to Whisky Import Nederland, for inviting me to this awesome introduction. And to Thomas Cuthbert for his presentation. One he gave full of pride of this product.