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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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July 18, 2019 |
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Little duos, today new oak-boosted
young Glenallachie |
We’ve got a few new ‘Billy-Walker’ Glenallachies that are very modern, and I would suspect more Scotch malts will be made like this in the future. They are young when not simply NAS, while they do not hide the fact that they’re heavily oak/wine-driven. That really creates a new style of Scotch malt whisky that some may call ‘legally flavoured’, but while I’m all for tradition and do not believe there’s any virtue in that old chestnut called ‘innovation’ (are we in tech or are we in whisky, for crying out loud?), I shall not cry wolf this time. Why? Because I’ve already tasted some pretty good ones. |
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Glenallachie 8 yo ‘Koval Rye Quarter Cask Wood Finish’ (48%, OB, 2019) 
I don’t know why so many ex-Koval casks ended up being used as finishing vessels in Scotland, including at the indies. Any ideas? A Chicagoan Millet finish anytime soon? Colour: white wine, so probably a very short finishing period. Nose: rye bread and raw ale all over the place, plus a good dollop of custard. Very simple, but the fact is, I love these kinds of aromas. Would rather move towards the expected notes of butterscotch, cinnamon cake and speculoos after that, plus bonbons and a little nutmeg. Mouth: there’s rather more Scotchness to the palate, but the oak’s very obvious. Mind you, those were small quarter casks, not too sure if that was just some flash-finishing though. So cinnamon and quite a lot of black tea, plus some lemon liqueur and quite a lot of natural cider (not the sugared ‘junk’ some have here and there). It’s very spicy, but that’s pretty much under control. Finish: long, with much more ginger and cinnamon. May make you want to clear your throat. Comments: I don’t like the idea too much, but I do enjoy the end result. Much better than the other way ‘round, I suppose. Welcome to malt whisky’s tomorrow? Oh and thanks for the age statement!
SGP:361 - 83 points. |
Now let’s find another young one… |
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Glenallachie 11 yo 2007/2019 (61.3%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Barrel, Un-chillfiltered Collection, first fill sherry hogshead, cask #900169, 324 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: very different, drier yet, much more on mosses and tobaccos, then fresh almonds and quite a lot of terpenic aromas, pine needles, turpentine, balsam, thuja wood… I love that, even if in some cases, those aromas may suggest the palate is… wrecked. We’ll see… With water: macaroons and gingerbread, pipe tobacco, savoury bits muffins, liquorice, aniseed and Alsatian-style baked snails. Yep my friend. Mouth (neat): yeah, drinking turpentine while smoking Kools and varnishing the parquet. Sort of. With water: it’s got something modern too, especially this pepper and all the ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Finish: long and really very spicy. Feels rather ‘craft’. Quite a lot of new oak in the aftertaste. Comments: certainly not for everyone. Which means, yeah, that there’s more for us ;-). A big boy.
SGP:371 - 85 points. |
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