Our Aberlour 25 Year Old review lands at 9/10. This is the Speyside distillery’s oldest permanent expression, a Single Batch bottled at cask strength (50.8% ABV) and non-chill filtered, built from a small number of hand-selected casks including a single first-fill sherry hogshead. Expect dates, prunes and deep, heavy sherry on the nose, then plums, vanilla, fresh ginger and baking spice on a full, chewy palate. The RRP is $600 for 70cl, sold through global travel retail from October 2026. If you love sherried single malt and get the chance to taste it, take it.
We first tasted the Aberlour 25 Year Old at Whisky Live Paris in September 2026, the week it was unveiled. We were lucky to get a pour. Now we have had the chance to sit down with it properly, at our own pace, and it is a very different whisky from its younger sibling.
The 21 Year Old is rich and generous. The 25 goes further into the sherry, darker and heavier, and it holds onto your palate long after the glass is down.
Who makes Aberlour 25 Year Old, and why the distillery matters here
Aberlour sits in the village of the same name in Speyside, Scotland’s most densely packed whisky region, along the River Spey in the north-east of the country. The distillery was founded in 1879 by James Fleming and takes its name from the Lour Burn, the stream that supplies its water. Today it is part of Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Brothers.
What matters for this bottle is house style. Aberlour has long been built on pairing American oak with sherry casks, and its cask strength A’bunadh has made the name a byword for sherried Speyside. The 21 and 25 Year Old are the oldest expressions it has ever added to its permanent range, released annually in small single batches under Master Distiller Graeme Cruickshank.
What is Aberlour 25 Year Old? The specs
The 25 Year Old is the smaller of the two new releases. Aberlour blended a few hand-selected casks, including a single first-fill sherry hogshead, and bottled the result at natural cask strength without chill filtration.
Age: 25 years
Type: Speyside single malt Scotch whisky, Single Batch
Cask: American oak and sherry casks, including a first-fill sherry hogshead
ABV: 50.8% (cask strength)
Chill filtration: No
Bottle: 70cl
RRP: $600
Aberlour 25 Year Old tasting notes
Aberlour 25 Year Old tasting notes
Nose: Deep, heavy sherry from the first-fill hogshead dates, prunes, a touch of liquorice, baking spices and a quiet line of old oak underneath
Palate: Sweet and rich from the first sip ripe plums, vanilla, then fresh ginger, cardamom and cinnamon, lifted by a surprising note of fresh strawberries
Finish: Long and clinging elegant heavy sherry, the sensation of chewing on dates and prunes, fruity sweetness to the very end
ABV: 50.8% | Cask: American oak and sherry, incl. first-fill sherry hogshead | Price: $600 (70cl, travel retail RRP)
What makes Aberlour 25 Year Old different from the 21
Put the two side by side and the difference starts on the nose. The 25 carries far more sherry weight, and you can trace it straight to that first-fill hogshead. Dates and prunes come first, dense and dark, with liquorice and baking spice behind them.
The palate is where it really earns its age. It is big and full, coating the sides of the mouth, yet the 50.8% never pushes the sherry into heaviness for its own sake. The ginger and cardamom keep it moving, and the fresh strawberry note is a lovely surprise in a dram this dark.
That is the balance a quarter of a century in good wood should deliver: deep sherry, but with freshness still in it.
| Aberlour 21 Year Old | Aberlour 25 Year Old | |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | 48% | 50.8% (cask strength) |
| Cask | American oak + sherry oak | American oak + sherry, incl. first-fill sherry hogshead |
| Style | Rich, generous, sherry-led | Deeper, heavier sherry, longer finish |
| RRP | $270 | $600 |
| For whom | The sherry lover opening a bottle | The collector chasing the rarer, heavier dram |
Aberlour 25 Year Old review score and verdict
Score: 9/10 Deep, heavy sherry with real freshness underneath: the finest expression of the Aberlour house style we have tasted.
This is a whisky for sherry lovers, full stop. If you reach for dried fruit, dark sweetness and a palate that fills the mouth, this is exactly that, done at the highest level Aberlour has put into its permanent range.
It isn’t for the drinker after a light, fresh, bourbon-cask Speyside, and it isn’t one to rush. Give it time in the glass and it keeps unfolding.
At $600 it is a special-occasion bottle. If that is a stretch, the 21 Year Old at $270 gives you much of the same character and is well worth trying alongside it. But if you get the chance to taste the 25, take it.
Price and availability
Aberlour 25 Year Old has an RRP of $600 for a 70cl bottle. At launch it is a global travel retail release: from October 2026, it is sold in limited quantities in selected airports worldwide, and at the Aberlour Boutique in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the brand’s first branded store.
No regular domestic retail release or official pricing in pounds or euros has been announced so far. Production is small, so if you are not flying soon, keep an eye on specialist retailers and auction platforms, where travel retail bottles tend to appear after launch. We will update this review if a wider release is confirmed.
FAQ: Aberlour 25 Year Old
What is Aberlour 25 Year Old? Aberlour 25 Year Old Single Batch is the oldest permanent expression from Aberlour Distillery in Speyside. It is a single malt made from a few hand-selected American oak and sherry casks, including a single first-fill sherry hogshead, bottled at cask strength of 50.8% ABV and non-chill filtered. It debuted at Whisky Live Paris in September 2026.
What does Aberlour 25 Year Old taste like? When we tasted it, the nose was deep, heavy sherry with dates, prunes, liquorice and baking spice. The palate is sweet and full, with plums, vanilla, fresh ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and a note of fresh strawberries. The finish is long and clinging, like chewing on dates and prunes.
What score did The Daily Whisky give Aberlour 25 Year Old? The Daily Whisky scored Aberlour 25 Year Old 9 out of 10, which on our scale means exceptional. We rate it for its deep first-fill sherry character, its full, mouth-coating texture at 50.8% ABV and the freshness of ginger and strawberry that keeps the heavy sherry balanced. It is a clear recommendation for sherry lovers.
How much does Aberlour 25 Year Old cost? Aberlour 25 Year Old has a recommended retail price of $600 for a 70cl bottle, set for its global travel retail launch. Official prices in pounds or euros have not been announced. As production is small, secondary market prices may end up higher than the RRP once travel retail stock sells through.
Where can I buy Aberlour 25 Year Old? From October 2026, Aberlour 25 Year Old is sold in limited quantities through global travel retail in selected airports worldwide, and at the Aberlour Boutique in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. No wider retail release has been confirmed yet, so check specialist whisky retailers and auction platforms if you are not travelling.
What is the difference between Aberlour 21 and 25 Year Old? The 21 Year Old is bottled at 48% ABV from American oak and sherry oak casks, at an RRP of $270. The 25 Year Old is cask strength at 50.8%, from a smaller number of casks including a first-fill sherry hogshead, at $600. In the glass the 25 is deeper, heavier on sherry and longer on the finish.
Leave a Reply