Aberlour 20 Year Old and 16 Year Old Chivas Distillery Reserve Collection

let’s begin

Aberlour might be small but their malt is powerful and these two bottlings, a 16 year old and 20 year old, are stand outs from the Chivas Distillery Reserve Collection.

The Distillery Reserve Collection

Chivas have curated an exquisite selection of their best single malts from across their distillery family. The full collection includes 48 total whiskies from across 13 distilleries – many of which rarely release or bottle their malt.

Chivas is a Scotch brand that has been around for over two centuries, an incredibly long time, even for Scotland. During that time they amassed a family of 13 distilleries, both small and large. Many of these, such as Glen Keith and Strathisla typically produce malt to be used the well known Chivas Regal Blend.

The Distillery Reserve Collection, featuring whiskies aged from 4 to 29 years old, is a chance for fans to get to know smaller Chivas brands better and to understand the high quality of malt that goes into their blends.

Aberlour 20 Year Old and 16 Year Old

Two stand out malts from the Distillery Reserve Collection are the Aberlour 20 Year Old and 16 Year Old. It is one of Chivas’s distilleries that is regularly released as a Single Malt rather than only being used in their blends.

The distillery itself is based in Speyside and produces wonderfully sherried malt. It has a traditional Speyside flavour profile, excellently executed and done to the highest quality.

Tasting notes for Aberlour 20 Year Old Single Malt Speyside Scotch Whisky Chivas Distillery Reserve Collection

Bottle cost: £125.00

The nose beings with orchard fruits and sherry spice. It is warming and cosy, with hints of chocolate and caramel thoughout.

The palate is full of cinnamon, dried fruits, tart berries and sweet jams. Plum, blackberries and figs appear, giving it a lovely richness. The spices are mellow but warming, reminiscent of mulled wine.

The finish is bold and full of oak wood and sherry.

Tasting notes for Aberlour 16 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky Chivas Distillery Reserve Collection

Bottle cost: £155.00

The nose opens on sweet nuts, ginger and dried fruit. It is strong and full of character. Notes of oak appear with caramel and vanilla as well.

The palate is full of Christmas cake, walnuts, more ginger and a big note of marzipan. Dark cherries, almonds and cinnamon also come through. There is a hint of fennel and liquorice giving it a wonderful complexity.

The finish has lots of oak wood, caramel, and dried fruits notes.

These are two brilliant Single Malts that do a good job of representing Aberlour in the Distillery Reserve Collection.

Are you a fan of Chivas malts? What do you think of their Distillery Reserve Collection? Start the conversation in the comments!

image credit Aberlour

Tags: AberlourAberlour 16Aberlour 20Chivas DistilleryReserve Collection

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.