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12th April 2022 |
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Review of the
recently unveiled second batch of
whiskies in the limited edition
GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series, this
batch consists of the GlenAllachie 15
Year Old Scottish Virgin Oak Finish, 10
Year Old French Virgin Oak Finish, and
10 Year Old Chinquapin Virgin Oak
Finish.
The GlenAllachie recently
unveiled the second batch of its limited edition Virgin Oak
Series, a range which explores the
influence of aging whisky in a variety
of different virgin oak species from
around the world.
This second batch of limited edition
Virgin Oak finished GlenAllachie Speyside
Single Malt expressions consists of the
GlenAllachie 15 Year Old Scottish Virgin
Oak Finish, the GlenAllachie 10 Year Old
French Virgin Oak Finish, and the
GlenAllachie 10 Year Old Chinquapin
Virgin Oak Finish.
The marked flavour differences between
the three bottlings are led by a variety
of factors: the oak species, the local
terroir and the period of natural air
drying, along with the toasting,
charring and coopering of the casks.
The Virgin Oak Series showcases the
expert cask sourcing and wood management
skills of Master Distiller Billy Walker,
who this year reaches a staggering
half-century as a blender and distiller
in the Scotch Whisky industry.
All three of the new expression were
initially matured in
American Oak (Quercus Alba) ex-Bourbon
Barrels. To add a distinctive layer of
flavour characteristics, the whisky then
underwent a secondary maturation period
of approximately 18 months in virgin oak
casks, all carefully selected by Walker.
The GlenAllachie 15 Year Old Scottish Virgin Oak which has a UK RRSP
of £175 is quite a rarity, it is one of
just a few Scotch whiskies to
ever be matured in Scottish oak – it was
finished in casks made of Sessile Oak
(Quercus Petrae) sourced from the
Atlantic coast of Scotland. Scottish oak
is incredibly challenging to work with
at all stages of production: growing,
milling, and coopering. Its rarity,
costliness and tendency to knot
unfortunately mean it
is scarcely used for whisky maturation
but any I have had the pleasure of in
the past has been very good.
Before hosting the GlenAllachie spirit,
the Scottish oak wood was air dried for 36 months,
opening up the oak for maximum flavour
extraction. After toasting and charring
to a medium level, the small quantity of
casks used have delivered just 2,250
bottles of truly exceptional liquid
abundant in vanilla pods, ginger and
cloves.
For the GlenAllachie 10 Year Old French Virgin Oak
Finish which has a UK RRSP of £61.99, Walker sourced
casks made of French Oak (Quercus Robur)
from the Haute-Garonne region, close to
the Pyrenees. The fine-grained,
consistent wood was air dried for 15
months before being filled with the
whisky. The result is a subtly sweet yet
earthy malt.
The GlenAllachie 10 Year Old Chinquapin Virgin Oak
Finish which has a UK RRSP of £61.99 used wood from
the Northern Ozark region of Missouri in
the United States. Once air dried for
nearly four years and toasted to a
medium level, the casks made of
Chinquapin – a sub species of Quercus
Alba – have bestowed distinctive spicy, biscuity notes upon The GlenAllachie.
All three of the new whiskies are presented
at their natural colour, non chill
filtered and at what should be a
flavoursome strength of 48%
ABV.
Commenting on the new trio, Walker said:
"Exploring the interaction of virgin oak
with our whisky has become a real
passion of mine over the last few years,
and I feel it’s something that we are
really specialising in. I don’t think
it’s a secret that I am devoted to wood
management and sourcing unusual casks,
but I believe virgin oak is underexposed
in the Scotch whisky industry; something
we are eager to change.
"This expansion of our Virgin Oak Series
showcases three superb Single Malts,
each with incredibly unique attributes.
I’m particularly proud to release a very
rare Scottish Virgin Oak bottling; a
long-held ambition of mine, with full
appreciation of how challenging and
expensive it is to work with. The
result, in my humble opinion, is
genuinely outstanding."
The new GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series
bottlings are
available from specialist online whisky retailers such
as
The Whisky Exchange,
Amazon
and
Master of Malt
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GlenAllachie 10 Year Old French Virgin Oak Finish Review
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William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Honey and vanilla toffee infused with a
touch of orange citrus, pear and
apricot, some distant coconut. With
time, some lovely gentle pepper and oak
spice things up a little.
Taste:
Honeyed orange leads the charge quickly
supported by sweet toffee, pepper and
the oak spice from the nose which is
more pronounced now, the sweet toffee is
then balanced by some late coffee.
Finish:
The
bitter coffee and sweet toffee joust it
out before fading, the honey hangs in
for an age still with a wee orange
citrus edge but it is the virgin oak
that has the final say with a mildly
drying earthy oakiness, a wee touch of
ginger and some lovely pepper.
Comment:
A superb example of what a virgin oak
cask can bring to a whisky, delicious, I can highly recommend this one, a
pleasure.
SMW Whisky Score
91/100
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GlenAllachie 10 Year Old Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish Review
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William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Gentle honey and orange zest, some
distant shortbread, a little sweetened
toffee and the slightest nuttiness and
spice.
Taste:
A mix of caramel, honey and shortbread
all with a lovely sugared almond edge.
This is joined by a gentle mix of
cinnamon, ginger and pepper spicing
things up, some late liquorice joins the
party.
Finish:
The sugared almonds are bittered out,
they are quickly overthrown by a coffee
and liquorice edge which fades to leave
some oak spices.
Comment:
Quite a gentle nose but comes alive in
the mouth making it clear about the type
of casks it spent its time maturing in.
SMW Whisky Score
86/100
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GlenAllachie 15 Year Old Scottish Virgin Oak Finish Review
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Producer's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Bursting with honeycomb, vanilla pods
and citrus fruits, with butterscotch,
orange zest and white chocolate.
Taste:
Lashings of heather honey, caramelised
pine nuts, cinnamon and toffee, followed
by orange peel, lemon zest, banana and
ginger.
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