Scotch Whisky Review #334: GlenAllachie 15 Year

Distillery: GlenAllachie.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 15 Year. Bottle date code is stamped “11 09 20”.

ABV: 46.0%.

Cask Type: Oloroso & PX Sherry Hogsheads & Puncheons.

Price: $85 or 90, I can’t remember exactly.

Color: 1.8, Old Oak. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: It’s a weird mix of some really nice notes and some notes that I really didn’t expect. Stewed dark red fruits make up the biggest notes, they’re what you smell first and actually take a few whiffs to get past. Chocolate and cherry liqueur comes next followed by pomegranate and marzipan. Then towards the back comes a fairly strange note of hand lotion and some kind of floral soap.

Palate: At bottle strength, it’s is so oak-heavy. There’s a richness to it, but all I could really taste was oak to the point where it felt like I was just biting down and sucking on a piece of literal wood that had been dunked in something. Not exactly a great start. With a bit of water, the oakiness does dial back but it never gets to the point where oak is not the number one note b y a long shot. When some other notes do eventually come in, I got raisins and cherry liqueur with a side of lacquer.

Finish: Medium to long in length. Notes of cherry and lacquer are the main ones here.

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Conclusion: When you see a whisky this dark with the name Billy Walker signed on the label, certain expectations of a sherry bomb start to form. I was really, really excited about this whisky as I’d heard nothing but good things about Billy Walker’s work at GlenAllachie. I have to say, this is nothing short of utter disappointment. I first poured some of this bottle a couple of months ago, tasted it, and figured it might just need some time to air out as some heavily sherried whiskies do. Revisiting it, it doesn’t seem to have changed much if at all. The nose is the only part of this that is nice, though the hand lotion notes are a bit strange. The rest of it comes off as a super oaky whisky that really didn’t live up to expectations. Shame.

Final Score: 74.

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Scotch Whisky Review #334, Speyside Review #124, Whisky Network Review #479

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.