Aberfeldy was built in 1896 by John Dewar & Sons, the famous company founded by John Dewar, a wine merchant who became a successful blender in the mid-19th century. The logical next step following this success was to begin creating Aberfeldy, which quickly became a key ingredient in the house blend. Dewar’s joined Distillers Company Limited in 1925 and remained part of the group until 1998 when Diageo sold it to Bacardi. The next year, the new owners gave Aberfeldy—whose production had until then been used primarily for the Dewar’s blend—its own brand of single malts, beginning with the launch of a 12 year old.

An Aberfeldy 21 year old distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2017, matured in bourbon hogsheads. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 by George Duncan, who was quickly joined by William Cadenhead, who renamed the business after Duncan’’s death in 1858. When Cadenhead in turn passed away in 1904, his nephew Robert Duthie took over and turned the business into the independent bottler it is today. After Duthie, it was managed by one of his employees, Ann Olivier, whose stubborn approach to running the business led to much of the stock having to be sold at auction by Christie’’s (London) in 1972 to feed the kitty and save the business. It was then sold to J. & A. Mitchell and Co, who also owned Springbank, and moved to Campbeltown. Launched in the 1990s, the Authentic Collection marked the end of the previous two decades of bottlings at 46%, instead favouring cask strength releases. It became Cadenhead’’s main range. A limited edition of 270 bottles.