Back in the day when the United Kingdom was still part of Europe, these three GlenAllachies were released. I didn’t really notice them until they didn’t sell ridiculously well and they were slightly discounted.

Of course, a bottle-share followed suit, and I ended up with a sizeable share of GlenAllachie from Oloroso, PX and Port. I found it a good thing to investigate how the Speyside spirit stands up to quite active casks. At least, the color indicates that the casks were active. Two chestnut colored, and one pink whisky were set out for assessment on a lazy Sunday afternoon a while ago.

And while the actual tasting of these whiskies has been a couple of months, the blog post is only written now. Mostly because during the entire construction happening here, I lost my notebook and I didn’t write these notes on my phone for easy copy-pasting…

GlenAllachie 12yo, 2007-2019, Port Pipe 1860, 58.7%

Sniff:
Stewed strawberries and rhubarb, with old, wet oak behind it. Quite some barley, with hessian and coconut mats.

Sip:
The palate is unsurprisingly sharp with lots of red fruit. Sticky toffee pudding, cinnamon, cherries and almonds. Again, the stewed strawberry.

Swallow:
The finish has more black pepper and while the heat dissipates, there’s some spiciness that lingers. Old oak casks, and slightly less fruity.

Well, it sure is pink and it’s a very true port cask. Lots of red fruits and that old oak that I often find in port casks. Pretty good, but not stellar. It doesn’t leave much room for the whisky, which again is typical for a lot of port casks.

86/100 Available for around € 100

GlenAllachie 13yo, 2006-2019, PX Puncheon 4522, 60.8%

Sniff:
Old oak with sweet dried fruit. Quite a lot of baking spices for a PX cask. Menthol cigarettes and plums.

Sip:
The palate is warming with some dry spiciness. Quite a lot of oak with cherry stones and almonds. Some bitterness, plums, chili powder.

Swallow:
The dry baking spices linger, with some chili heat too. Quite short but does give some room for dried fruit, plums mostly.

While this whisky doesn’t give the spirit any more room, it’s slightly less singular on the cask’s former contents. There’s fruit, spices. Maybe not more spirit, but more typical flavors for whisky.

87/100 Available for € 120

GlenAllachie 12yo, 2007-2019, Oloroso Puncheon 4573, 61.2%

Sniff:
Sawdust and baking spices, with a slight funk that’s not unfamiliar for Oloroso. Some apricot, hay and barley.

Sip:
The palate is sweeter than the nose, with more fruit and more oak. Also a bit more peppery heat, but still a bit focused on the baking spices. There’s LOTS of flavor here.

Swallow:
The finish gives more dryness, more spices instead of fruit. It’s also slightly longer than the previous two.

While being the hottest (in regards to the alcohol and heat sensation) this is also the most complex of the bunch, and I really enjoy the slight funkiness and spicy complexity this one brings. This is by far my favorite of the bunch.

89/100 Available for around € 140