
December 4, 2020

Little duos, two Allt-A-Bhainne

We love challenges at WF. For example, we try hard to do at least one Allt-A-Bhainne session every year. 2020’s takes place right today.

Allt-A-Bhainne 10 yo 2008/2019 (46.5%, House of McCallum, cask #172, 432 bottles)

Rather sadly, it appears that this baby has spent some time in a Burgundy cask (a Monthélie). Shall we find notes of ‘dead civet cat’, ‘rabbit that ran in high meadows’ or ‘good sister who doesn’t take care of herself’? Oh no wait, it was white Monthélie, that’s much better! I totally adore pinot noir, just not in my whisky, thank you very much. Colour: straw. Nose: hold on, natural wine, ferments, yeasts, spent lees, sourdough, mashed celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke, eggplants, elderflowers, jasmine… What’s not to like? Perhaps these wee touches of plastic here and there in the background, but never mind. Mouth: much less uncertain and wobbly than I had thought, this works a treat, with quite a lot of bitterer flour (buckwheat?), mustard, baker’s yeast, various beers, fresh breads, wholegrain, ale… Isn’t it rather strange that a malt whisky that’s met with chardonnay in its life would be full of beer tastes? Finish: of good length, full of beers, breads, and cider. Comments: I believe it’s easy to miss the point completely here. I mean, Allt-A-Bhainne, wine wood, young age… And yet, I find it full of charms and just very good. I would have said American malt whisky, no?
SGP:451 - 85 points.

Allt-A-Bhainne 27 yo 1992/2020 (49.2%, The Whisky Cask Company, bourbon, cask #1800472, 272 bottles)

This one by our friends in Switzerland, the Kissling family of The Stillman’s fame. Oh how I’m missing Zürich’s ships and röstis, hope Luzern will take place next year! Colour: gold. Nose: Di’esch ganz guett denk ich, mett exact bluema ond… Oh excuse me, we are not in Switzerland are we, how very sad… but this nose is quite astonishing, subtle, complex, on those fantastic beehive-y aromas that well-behaved wood (not a new hoggie seasoned with cheap PX, mind you) would generate. Lighter honeys (acacia), nougat, hay, crushed hazelnuts, artisanal sunflower oil, Läckerli (not quite but we’re trying put a brave face on it, you understand…) and, drumroll… beeswax! Wunderbar. Mouth: what? Allt-A-Bhainne? This is an ode to time and its impact on whisky. This reminds you that malt whisky = barley, water, yeast, wood and TIME. Overripe apples, waxes, blood oranges, marzipan, touches of ginger, some chutneys, and a rather marvellous pepper, bordering Thainess. Thai basil, Himalaya pepper, lime… Finish: rather long, with some wonderfully fresh peppery notes. Really very ‘Thai’ (Thai cuisine, another thing that I just idolise). And guess what’s coming in the aftertaste? Butterscotch! Comments: possibly the best Allt-A-Bhainne I’ve ever tried. One day, I’ll tell you (again) about that anecdote that took place when I tried to gather data about Allt-A-Bhainne from Pernod-Ricard, in the 2000s. Good fun.
SGP:561 - 89 points.

Good, I’m sure it’s not the first time I’m telling you about this, but there. Around 2005, there had been a rumour that Pernod had decided to mothball Allt-A-Bhainne and, I seem to remember, Braeval, so my compadres the Malt Maniacs asked me, since I was, and still am French, to contact the owners just to check whether that was true. Which I did, with an email to their PR department. No answers… After a few weeks, I sent another email, which pulled this answer (from memory)… “Allt-A-Bhainne and Braeval? Are you sure those distilleries belong to us?” Having said that, I had also contacted some friends at LVMH’s headquarters in Paris just after they had acquired Glenmorangie plc., wondering if they would do special single casks of Ardbeg for France. Their answer had been something like “Ardbeg? Not ours, our distillery in Scotland is Glenmorangie!” The good old days… See you.

Check the index of all Allt-A-Bhainne we've tasted so far