Aberfeldy 7 Years Old 2015 Cask #1203 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

Distilled at Aberfeldy in 2015 and matured 7 years in a single Port wine cask numbered 1203, bottled by The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd. in 2023 at cask strength 54.5% under The Cooper's Choice indie label for the European specialist trade. 474 bottles drawn from the cask. The Vintage Malt Whisky Co was founded in 1992 in Glasgow by Brian Crook, formerly of Morrison Bowmore, with The Cooper's Choice as their established working indie series.

Long fermentation Aberfeldy wash from the four still configuration, distilled in 2015 under John Dewar & Sons (Bacardi) ownership. Filled into a single Port wine cask and aged 7 years before bottling at cask strength 54.5% with no chill filtering and no caramel adjustment under The Cooper's Choice house specification.

Seven years in a single Port wine cask gives an intense polyphenol contribution at relatively young spirit age: condensed tannins from prior Port reduction (proanthocyanidins, polymerised wine pigments) supply the dried red fruit and structural grip, residual polysaccharides from the Port wine carry sweetness, and the European or Portuguese oak contributes a softer ellagitannin and gallic acid extraction than a sherry cask would. Aberfeldy's ester profile (ethyl laurate, ethyl myristate, heavier alcohols) drives the honey base, with the Port adding strawberry, red plum and a slight floral aromatic at cask strength.