Aberfeldy 1980 (Bottled 1997) Flora & Fauna Limited Bottling / 62%/ 0.7l

In the early 1990s, following the great success of Classic Malts, United Distillers (the previous incarnation of Diageo) introduced another series of single malt whiskies.

This time they came from distilleries that mainly produce for the needs of the corporation's blends. The new series, commonly known as Flora & Fauna, was labeled with an image of a representative of flora or fauna characteristic of the distillery's headquarters. Over the years, the series has released whiskies from 26 distilleries, which are slowly gaining collector's value. In 1997, nine of them were released in limited "cask strength" editions, and these immediately caught the attention of collectors. The Aberfeldy presented here, distilled in 1980, spent about 17 years in American oak barrels. Diageo never officially closed the series, but in recent years we have not been able to replenish stocks.

Aroma: fragrant, floral, summer meadow, pine needles, vanilla ice cream, caramel, honey, ripe apples, strawberries, a handful of fresh herbs, notes of hay and oak.

Palate : rich, vanilla cream, cappuccino, honey, toffee, sugared nuts, oranges, apples, peaches, notes of white pepper and lemongrass and a light bitterness of oak.

Finish : quite long, with notes of vanilla, toffee, honey, ripe summer fruits, roasted nuts, white pepper and oak.