GlenAllachie - "Whisky in good hands". - Wood finishes
GlenAllachie is a distillery I still can't 100% like. What they do is very controversial to me. For one there is the matter of their limited Cask Strength bottlings that consists of over 100.000 bottles lately and they still call it limited. Or for example I just can't stand their core range. I only like the 15 year old. The 12-18 is just too acidic for me from the Rioja casks. What I like tho is their Virgin Oak Series and several wood finishes they have. Now those are for me. Today I will be giving you the brief history of GlenAllachie distillery and then I will present you a few bottles with tasting notes that I have tasted so far. Hope you enjoy.
The history of the distillery
GlenAllachie distillery is a Speyside, single malt whisky distillery at Aberlour founded in 1967, which sits at the foot of Ben Rinnes.
Previously, the distillery mainly produced whisky for blends however has since been relaunched as a distillery known for its fruity, single malt expressions. The GlenAllachie distillery was built in 1967 by Mackinlay McPherson. It was bought and mothballed by Invergordon Distillers in 1985. They sold it to Campbell Distillers in 1989, who restarted the distillery. In July 2017, it was announced that Chivas Brothers agreed to sell GlenAllachie to former BenRiach MD Billy Walker, Trisha Savage and ex-Inver House Distillers MD Graham Stevenson, who came together to form The GlenAllachie Distillers Company. It is now one of Scotland's few independently owned and managed distilleries. In 2024, the distillery carried out a rebranding. This gave the bottlings a new look and limited special bottlings were henceforth summarised under the name "Wood Collection". The rebranding also introduced the slogan "whisky in good hands".
The building of the GlenAllachie distillery was designed by S. Lothian Barclay from Lothian, Barclay Jarvis & Boys and William Delme-Evans It is located at the foot of Ben Rinnes, close to the Lour burn. The grounds has ponds that are fed by the Lour, that provide water for cooling. In June 2023, the distillery completed the £600,000 upgrade of the visitor centre.
The distillery draws its water from spring fed and snow water fed streams on the North East of Ben Rinnes. Although the distillery has the capacity to produce 4 million litres of alcohol (LOA), they have reduced their production to just 500,000 LOA and extended their fermentation time to 160 hours. The distillery uses a semi-lauter mash tun, and six stainless steel washbacks. It uses two lantern shaped wash stills, and two onion shaped spirit stills for distillation.
GlenAllachie 8 year old Scottish Virgin Oak - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 48%
"From Batch 3 of our Virgin Oak Series, we are proud to present a rare single malt which underwent additional maturation in casks made of Scottish Sessile Oak (Quercus Petrae), sourced from the Atlantic coast. Scottish oak is incredibly challenging to work with at all stages of production: growing, milling and coopering. Its rarity, costliness and tendency to knot mean it is scarcely used for whisky maturation.
Before being filled, the wood was air dried for 36 months, then toasted and charred to a medium level.
Despite presenting difficulties, this desirable oak imparts luxurious notes of blonde chocolate, with hints of zesty orange and smooth toffee to offer a truly unique drinking experience.
Bottled at 48%, natural colour and non chill filtered."
Nose: Bursting with honeycomb, vanilla and citrus. Herbal notes, pine trees and fresh soil. Lots of butterscotch and white chocolate. A big amount of fresh toasted oak which I love.
Taste: Heather honey, pine nuts, cinnamon, toffee, followed by orange zest, lemon, banana and ginger. With a heavy wood influence. The taste is better than the nose.
Finish: Long, sweet and dry with wood note. It's not to sweet because the oak and a bitter coffee not balances the scale.
I've had the 15 year old variant which costs four times the price of this. Let me tell you. This is as good. Don't waste your money on the 15 year old Scottish Oak. Just get this one. 89 / 100
GlenAllachie 7 year old Hungarian Virgin Oak - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 48%
This bottle is close to my heart. As you guys know, I am from Hungary. My country has become an increasingly popular location for cask production, as its two primary oak-producing forests contain both oak tree species that are used in the wine industry and therefore in the whisky industry for finishing or ageing. Quercus robur requires more generous growing conditions and has a rigid tannin structure. Quercus Petrea grows in tougher, drier conditions and offers more aromatic, elegant notes. In southern Hungary, the Mecsek forest boasts a comfortable wet climate with nutritious soil, an ideal terrain for both species of oak. Wine stored in oak from the Mecsek forest tends to mature more rapidly due to the greater amount of oxidation occurring within the barrels.
"From Batch 3 of our Virgin Oak Series, we are proud to present an innovative single malt which enjoyed secondary aging in Hungarian oak. Master Distiller Billy Walker's search for the unusual led him to the mountains of northeast Hungary to the Zemplén forest. Its rocky volcanic soil, along with its colder climate and higher altitude, means that the trees in this region grow very slowly, giving the oak a tight grain – a desirable trait for aging spirit.
Keen to experiment with this rare oak, the barrels were toasted and charred to a medium level before hosting our complex spirit. One of the world's first single malts finished in Hungarian virgin oak (Quercus Petraea), expect an aromatic, well-balanced and wonderfully unique whisky delivering silky smooth richness.
Bottled at 48%, natural colour and non chill filtered."
Nose: Butterscotch, citrus and lots of chocolate, raisins, orchard fruits and cinnamon. Lots of fresh wood. Reminds me of walking in the forest after some trees were cut.
Taste: Heather honey and cinnamon, followed by milk & dark chocolate, lemon zest and brown sugar. A bit of the young taste can be found here but it's not a problem at all. I think it's fine for what it is.
Finish: Medium to long. It's quite oaky. Quite dry and quite peppery. Some honey and heather notes along with bitter dark chocolate.
If it was aged for a bit more years say five more and bottled at 12 years old, I think this could be an awesome whisky. I think it even it could be a core range offering. Perhaps it would be too expensive since most of the fresh Hungarian Oak casks go to our wine producers.
I really like this bottle and I hope there will be more experimenting with Hungarian Oak. By GlenAllachie or by any other distillery. 86 / 100
GlenAllachie 10 year old French Virgin Oak - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 48%
"From Batch 2 of our Virgin Oak Series, this golden bronze malt was first matured in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels before undergoing additional maturation in hogsheads made of French oak (Quercus Robur), sourced from the Haute-Garonne region, for approximately 18 months. The fine-grained wood was air dried for 15 months before hosting the GlenAllachie spirit.
The secondary maturation period has added silky tannins, sweet spices and fruit notes to this delectable, earthy single malt.
Bottled at 48%, natural colour and non chill filtered."
Nose: Orange peel, heather honey and spices. Orchard fruits and coffee. Alcholic sting. It has more ethanol than the 7 and 8 year old I had before. Strange.
Taste: Heather honey, coffee and toffee, grapefruit, cinnamon, tannins. Young metallic note, peppery spice, heat. This tastes very young and not so good.
Finish: Very short, a bit alcoholic, sweet & sour. Unremarkable.
Overall I am disappointed in this. After having the younger ones I expected way more from thsi one and I had to face the truth. This one is not so good. I would not really recommend buying a full bottle. 83 / 100
GlenAllachie 10 year old Chinquapin Virgin Oak - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 48%
"From Batch 2 of our Virgin Oak Series, this exceptional malt was first matured in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels before undergoing additional maturation in casks made of Chinquapin Oak (Quercus Muehlenbergii), which is sourced from the Northern Ozark region in Missouri for approximately 18 months. The casks were air dried for almost four years, then toasted to medium level before hosting the spirit.
The result is a complex, zesty malt bursting with runny honey, sweet cinnamon and orange peel.
Bottled at 48%, natural colour and non chill filtered."
Nose: Very fresh, this nose will give off flavors of honey, vanilla, but also yeast, fersh croissant. It seems very oily, almost buttery. Apricots, baked apples. Lovely nose.
Taste: It has a very nice waxy texture, reminds me of Oban. There are herbal notes in here that were not present in the nose. Juniper, cloves, pepper. Apple pie with vanilla pudding and frosting on top. Freshly made croissant with french salted butter.
Finish: It has a very spicy finish with pepper and some sweetness. Oaky and complex, long lasting. Amazing.
Overall I think this is one of the better out of the series. I actually bought another bottle that I accidentally broke. Never ended up picking up another. I should. I recommend this. 85 / 100
GlenAllachie 10 year old Spanish Virgin Oak - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 48%
"From Batch 3 of our Virgin Oak Series, this mahogany malt obtains its spicy, treacly flavours from maturation in hogsheads made of Spanish Oak (Quercus Robur). This particular wood was sourced from the regions of Galicia and Asturias, specifically from the forests of the Cantabrian Mountains, which have a cool, humid climate.
The oak was air dried for around 18 months and then toasted and charred to a medium level, opening up the oak to allow our complex spirit to extract its cask character. The secondary ageing in these virgin casks deepened the mahogany hue of the whisky and created a palate rich with dried fruits, maraschino cherries and hints of stem ginger.
Bottled at 48%, natural colour and non chill filtered."
Nose: Light sweetness & heavy oakiness. Caramelized fruits. Cherries, citrus. A pinch of spices such as cinnamon and cloves. Notes of coffee. Dark chocolate. Lots of ginger. There's a lot going on, quite a complex nose.
Taste: Sweet & sour. Huge wood influence. Cherries, red berries, raspberries, orange peel. Lots of spices, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Roasted coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Quite good.
Finish: Long and complex. Very fruity and sour at the same time. Sour in this context is good. It comes from the orange / citrus peel and the bitter dark chocolate and coffee. Great finish.
Quite an interesting example of what virgin oak can do. Quite woody and sweet. Recommended. A bit on the pricey side but it's a lovely dram. 86 / 100
GlenAllachie 11 year old Single Cask for Europe - Batch 5 Ruby Port Pipe - Natural Color, Non-Chill filtered, 58.6%
"The GlenAllachie Batch 5 is the fifth release of an extremely tasty Scotch single malt whisky that originates from the Speyside region. It was distilled on 15.02.2011 without chill filtration and added coloring.
Aged for 11 long years in ex-Wine Porto cask number #7448, thanks to which it acquired a beautiful color and an extremely refreshing sweet aroma full of notes of cherries, honey, cinnamon and oranges.
Billy Walker's regular monitoring ensured that the final result delivered a perfect balance between the influence of the port and the character of the still.
The whisky was bottled with 58.6 % alcohol content. Subsequently, the bottles were placed in minimalistic gray and black gift boxes. Only 746 pieces were produced!"
Nose: Wine-like notes, showcasing grapes and and a basket of sweet fruits. This is soon followed by a wave of earthy tones, reminiscent of wet leaves and the mustiness of a root cellar. As time passes, the aroma evolves, introducing vanilla and tropical fruits. Lots of red berries from the forest and raspberry. A nice port influenced nose.
Taste: Full-bodied, very oily with a burst of fruitiness and richness. The flavors of dried fruits such as figs, dates and sultanas come through strongly, red berries and the sweetness raspberry. The earthy aspect returns, tobacco leaves and oak.
Finish: Medium to long, chocolate cake with a rich jam on top. A refreshing hint of mint at the very end.
I think this is amazing. Sadly these bottles go for a leg and an arm. However they are very very good. I would recommend you to try it if you can. Maybe get one if you can afford it. 88 / 100
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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.