GlenAllachie has been producing whisky for over fifty years but it wasn’t until Billy Walker bought the distillery that they really started making waves in the single malt space. Under previous ownership by Pernod Ricard, the distillery produced whisky primarily for blends. Walker and his team have undergone the arduous task of finding casks among the distillery’s considerable stocks that are suitable for a core range as well as particularly special casks for limited edition releases.
Today’s review is of GlenAllachie’s standard “entry level” 12 year old single malt. I use quotes here because the profile of this whisky is anything but entry level when it comes to flavor set and complexity. As it turns out, the cask profile of this whisky is far from entry level as well.
This 12 year old expression is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon casks (1st and 2nd fill), virgin oak, PX sherry casks, and Oloroso sherry casks. If that wasn’t complicated enough, the virgin oak casks and some of the sherry casks are re-racked.
Good luck trying to recreate this one at home.
This whisky is non-chill filtered, natural color, bottled at 46% ABV and can be found for under $75 in most markets. In today’s whisky world, it’s a solid value bottle based on the liquid that’s inside.
| Category | Notes |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Burnt caramel |
| Nose | Cedar, hints of coconut, green melon, grapefruit, cardamom, cereal, hint of red wine, Luxardo cherry juice, lychee, pumpkin pie filling, sultana. With water, more jammy, cotton candy, dried tropical fruits and vanilla. |
| Taste | Dark chocolate, caramel, apricot, malty, lemon zest, oily, starfruit, light oak, cinnamon. Water brings out kiwi, Twizzlers, and more baking spice. |
| Finish | Leather, more chocolate, white pepper, apple cinnamon, barley sugars. With water, drying, honey, white peach, and fresh whipped cream. |
| Overall Thoughts | There’s a lot to like about GlenAllachie 12 year as an entry level malt. It’s 46% ABV, NCF, natural color, and uses a variety of cask types to make an interesting whisky with plenty of deep, rich flavors that you don’t often find in younger whisky such as heavy chocolate and leather. Well done. |
| Total Score | 88/100 |
