Earlier this week I got a sample in the mail of a to-be-released GlenAllachie, and today is the day that it’s available from various shops. Let’s start by expressing a bit of gratitude towards Nils of Best of Wines/Best of Whiskies.

Then, GlenAllachie. A distillery that no one paid any attention to until it was bought by Billie Walker, of BenRiach/GlenDronach/GlenGlassaugh fame. He sold the three distilleries to Brown Forman a while ago and has since bought GlenAllachie.

They’ve been releasing fairly awesome single casks since, with quite a few releases for specific markets. It seems some money was needed to pay the bills…

Anyway, a distillery that has become quite popular in my little circle of geeks, and rightfully so. Not everything is solid what comes out, but most of it is worth the money and quite good. Unfortunately the older single casks are unaffordable. The regular 25 clocks in over € 200, which I think is too expensive for what it is. Similarly aged single casks cross the € 300 line.

This one then, comes in at € 200, which is affordable for what it is. That doesn’t mean it’s cheap since there’s a lot of money involved, but it’s comparatively affordable. Which is nice, in this day and age.

This cask was picked by Mark Watt, of Watt Whisky, and a previous post on this here blog. This makes my expectation of it even higher, since I know and appreciate the man’s palate.

Let’s see if it lives up to its price point!

Sniff:
Gentle on the bourbon cask with a good balance between cask, barley and spirit. Autumn leaves, puff pastry, moss. It’s quite light with some very crisp herbaceous notes.

Sip:
The palate is a bit hotter than I expected. Dry, with some freshly sawn oak. Black pepper, dried breadcrumbs, puff pastry. Some vanilla, moss and ferns, autumn leaves. I get dried apple peel and a whiff of bitterness later on.

Swallow:
The finish shows a bit more cask. Some vanilla, pastry cream, sawdust.

Yes, this does live up to the price point. It’s just shy of a 90-pointer for me, but I love that the time in oak has done a lot for the whisky without overpowering it. It’s still very much about the balance between oak and spirit, which is what whisky is about.

It seems like, just like with their rums, these guys know what they’re doing.

89/100

GlenAllachie 24, 1995-2020, Hogshead 23, 55.1%, The Duchess. Available at Best of Wines for € 200