GlenAllachie has been making name for themselves since Billie Walker took over a couple of years ago. While it was a bit of a generic distillery beforehand, focused on producing whisky for blenders, they now are releasing lots (and I mean lots) of single casks to virtually everyone who’s interested.

In this post I’ll review three of them. A bottling for Archives, an official single cask for The Netherlands and one for France. Two sherry casks and a weird one from a special kind of oak.

Let’s just get to it.

GlenAllachie 11, 2009-2020, Oloroso Hogshead 7700, 55% – OB for France

Sniff:
A big ABV, as per usual for these GlenAllachies. Lots of spicy sherry, woody with clove and cinnamon. Dates, plums, almonds.

Sip:
Sharp, peppery heat. Lots of chili, lots of oak, some bitter hints of cherry stones. Sour cherries, dates, plums. Typical.

Swallow:
Cola, cinnamon, clove. A dark sweetness of caramel. Cherry cola, oak, some bitterness.

Quite a good whisky, and for a random GlenAllachie the 55% is on the low side, strangely. It does give a bit more room to the wood flavors to be noticed. It adds some interesting notes of cola with baking spices and some dried fruits. Good stuff!

87/100

Available in France

GlenAllachie 10, 2010-2020, Chinquapin Barrel 4557, 62.4% – OB for The Netherlands

Sniff:
The typical fierce dryness that is cask strength GlenAllachie. Lots of dry osk, sawdust and a woody bitterness. The almonds and cherry stones without the fruitiness.

Sip:
Fierce and bone dry. Lots of oak, sawdust, some sweetness too. Egg washed puff pastry, some other wood spices that I cannot pin down. Black tea.

Swallow:
Dry with lots, and I mean lots, of oak. Not necessarily cask driven, but pure and dry sawdust and shavings.

Chinquapin is two different things. It’s a dwarf chestnut tree, which I find strange since that’s not allowed for whisky making. However, it’s also a name for a smaller species of oak, named after the dwarf chestnut tree. That explains some things.

The virgin oak is quite noticeable, since it is a very wood forward whisky. I love that it becomes massively dry because of it, especially on the finish. It might be a bit too much for some, but it’s right up my alley, even though it’s more ‘alcohol oak juice’ than a soothing single malt whisky.

88/100

Available here

GlenAllachie 11, 2008-2020, Sherry Butt 80901088, 62.5% – Archives ‘Birds of the Orient’

Sniff:
Dry, spicy sherry, with baking spices. Slightly wine-like. Dried apricots, peaches and cream. It somehow reminds me of the mango yoghurt my son eats.

Sip:
This burns like hell, at 62.5%. Slightly leathery, but that might be the inside of my mouth. Harsh, with some dried fruits and grains. A bit of oak, but not much.

Swallow:
The finish is quite gentle compared to the palate, with peaches, cream, a bit scone with double cream like. Oak, honey and oatmeal, barley.

Well, even though it’s almost on par with the ABV of the previous one, this one hits a lot harder. A bit too hard, if you ask me. The focus is very much on the high strength and the alcohol dominates the ‘drinking experience’. The whisky does bring a bit more fruit than the Chinquapin one, with peaches and cream leading the way. However, with how sharp it is, I didn’t enjoy drinking it all that much.

85/100

With this batch I think it’s proven again that they’re on quite a rol at GlenAllachie, although not everything is as enjoyable as some others. Much like every other distillery. However, I do like to keep trying these, I can tell you that!