Glenallachie 9 yo 'The Wood Collection' (48%, OB, Fino sherry finish, bottled 2024)
Part of a recent trio of sherry finishes from Glenallachie. Colour: straw. Nose: I detect too many of Fino's trademark salty notes, this is rather more classical young fruity Speyside I would say. Lots of apples, pears, cereals, custard and a little vanilla. Mouth: again, not too sure about the sherry influence here, but it's a nicely simple and biscuity malt with easy natural sweetness and some toasty cereal notes. Finish: medium, perhaps a little more sherry character in the finish now with a suggestion of green olive. Comments: not too sure, feels a little unsure of itself and I don't find too much overt Fino character. Simple, easy whisky nonetheless. 
SGP: 441 - 81 points.

Glenallachie 9 yo 'The Wood Collection' (48%, OB, Amontillado sherry finish, bottled 2024)
Remember, Amontillado is a Fino which has naturally lost its flor and is allowed to continue ageing oxidatively, which usually delivers some pretty stunning dry, nutty, leathery and salty characteristics with age. We are big fans of pretty much all dry sherries here at WF! Colour: slightly deeper straw. Nose: I feel this one works a little better, there is clearer sherry influence from the off, even if it remains on the lighter side, but then perhaps that's the point of this wee series? A little richer, earthier, more biscuity and some cedar wood and pine cones. Mouth: again, the sherry character is a little clearer, some tangy balsamic notes, some salted almonds, cured ham alongside the more typical cereals, dried flowers and dried apple. Finish: medium, again nicely leathery and a little salty and drying which really feels typically Amontillado. Comments: better! 
SGP: 451 - 84 points.

Glenallachie 9 yo 'The Wood Collection' (48%, OB, Oloroso sherry finish, bottled 2024)
Oloroso being fuller bodied wines which are aged without flor, instead they are fortified after fermentation so they age purely oxidatively. Nowadays, 'Oloroso', legally needs to be a dry wine, although historically many were sweetened with the addition of PX. Colour: pale amber - quite a jump! Nose: indeed, the influence is loud and clear now! Lots of tobaccos, gingerbread, leaf mulch - all very lovely and highly classical oloroso notes. Super easy, clean and nicely aromatic. Mouth: you do feel it was a dry sherry behind this as it's immediately rather rugged, dry, earthy, spicy and even a little salty. Many cured game meats, leathery notes and a few dark fruits and salted liquorice impressions. Finish: good length, very dry, leathery, gamey and on black olives - which is impossible to be against. Comments: surprisingly dry and quite powerful in fact. My favourite of the three as it feels like it displays the clearest sherry influence. 
SGP: 351 - 86 points.  

Glenallachie 14 yo 2009/2024 (60.3%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, cask #900609, sherry butt, 261 bottles)
Colour: coffee/amber. Nose: prunes, fudge and jams! Very nice, highly concentrated style with plenty dark fruits, dark chocolate and various wee side notes of things like quince, mocha, cigar humidor and pine wood. Very good! With water: cured ham and strawberry liqueur! This funny mish mash of the meaty and the fruity, but it works well. Mouth: also very good arrival, if a little on the thuggish side with the ABV. Still, lots of excellent balsamic, raisin and herbal bitters notes. Also some cherries soaked in kirsch, herbal tonic wines and eucalyptus. With water: at its best I would say. Chocolatey, more wood spice coming through, but still plenty of dark fruit notes, sweet black liquorice, cedar wood, game meats and some resinous fir wood. Finish: long, superbly umami, earthy, slightly salty and leathery. Comments: a proper sherry bomb, but I would immediately pour a large dollop into a tumbler and add water. 
SGP: 561 - 88 points. 

Glenallachie 10 yo 1989/2000 (62.3%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society #107.8)
Colour: gold. Nose: pumpernickel breads slathered in runny honey, vase water and crushed flower stems, golden syrup and sweet shilling ales. Feels like there may have been some kind of refill sherry involved in here somewhere… With water: honeysuckle and jasmine flower along with more robust aromas of pumpkinseed oil and honeycomb. A little eucalyptus too perhaps. Mouth: fir wood resins, ointments, juniper and nicely fat camphor touches. I also find it rather minty, mentholated and giving these nicely cooling sensations in the mouth. Various spiced teas and slightly jammy fruits too - rather a lot going on. With water: this menthol and honey vibe continues more assertively now, and is really lovely I would add! Eucalyptus, tea tree oil, resinous medicinal herbs, wormwood and various roots and earthy notes. Finish: medium and again on these menthol notes, ointments, herbs, honey and throat lozenges. Comments: a cask strength hot toddy! I really enjoyed this one, I would love to know what the cask was as I feel it is doing some very clever, very deft pulling of the strings here. Worth trying, should it ever cross your path. 
SGP: 551 - 87 points. 

Glenrothes 27 yo 1996/20232 (51.0%, Lady Of The Glen, cask #4853, hogshead, 160 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: a full and rich profile with clear cask influence behind it, that comes through as a nicely waxy with things like suncream, olive oil, camphor and shoe leather. I love this rather classical 'mature' profile. With water: really on cedar wood, sunflower seeds, muesli, freshly baked brown bread and wee hints of butterscotch. Also some crystallised fruits. Mouth: superb! Thick in texture, naturally balanced between sweeter, fruitier notes and drier, peppery aspects of the cask influence. Malt extract, heather ales, breads, old books and more camphor impressions. With water: gets even fruitier now. Straying into very classical 'old Glenrothes' profile I'd say. Totally deadly whisky! Finish: good length, some grippy wood spice, cedar wood again, dried flowers and dusty pollens with more peppery warmth and waxes. Comments: I'll dock a single point in the finish, I think the woodiness closes in just a little too tightly. But we are nit picking, this is a superb dram! 
SGP: 561 - 89 points. 

Glenrothes 39 yo 1980/2020 (44.8%, Elixir Distillers, 40th Anniversary Davidoff of London, Edward Sahakian, bourbon cask, 179 bottles)
This one also came with a cigar. Now, I don't smoke cigars very often, and I am not even an amateur in that arena, but I've been spoiled rotten by some extremely generous friends over the years who have shared incredible cigars with me, and I feel confident in saying that the cigar that came with this bottle was totally superb, I genuinely loved it. My two cents. Colour: pale amber. Nose: what I love, is that I find this one really reminiscent of much older style whiskies, it's a profile that bears resemblance to some of those old G&M pre-war distilled, 1980s bottled malts at 40%. Which is to say: waxes, ancient herbal medicines, tropical fruits mingled with coconut and the most superb camphor and hessian combination. Seriously, a gorgeous old school nose. Mouth: ha! You can see why such a cask would draw immediate connotations to cigars. It's an extremely mulchy and beautifully earthy profile that does indeed recall cigar humidors, cedar wood and many shades of tobacco. It's also got many tertiary notes that involve earthy and petrichor impressions: dried mushroom, wet leaves, tar extracts, herbal wines and even rather a lot of medicines as well. I would also mention dried out, crystallised honeys, candied citrus fruits and even some spiced winter ales. Finish: long, fat, bready, full of camphor, waxes, pine wood, medicinal herbs and more of these wonderful old school characteristics that combine many of the aforementioned notes. Comments: totally outstanding old Glenrothes that feels like it could have been distilled in 1940 instead of 1980. Truth be told, if I'm having a cigar, I prefer to drink champagne, but you can easily see why such a dram would be a perfect cigar whisky. 
SGP: 572 - 91 points. 

Tormore 21 yo 2000/2022 (58.6%, Gordon & MacPhail 'Connoisseur's Choice', cask #1290, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 180 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: a little grassier and more austere than I was expecting, but in a very pleasant way that quickly begins to involve kiwi, lime, crushed nettles and chalk. I even find it approaching some kind of bright New Zealand sauvignon with these wee tropical notes in the background. With water: olive oil, suet, dried herbs, lemon peel, dried mango and earthy potting shed vibes. Quite a bit of action, I have to say. Mouth: the richness from the bourbon cask is evident, but it's funny how the distillate still feels austere beneath that. It still has this grassy and flinty edge, with mineral oils, clay, pithy citrus rinds and peppery watercress. Love all this 'greenery'. With water: still nicely dry and grassy, but taking on some leathery tones, white chocolate, mint julep, mineral oils, sheep wool, wood polish - again a feeling of quite a lot being crammed into one dram! Finish: long, zingy, citric, grassy, mineral and still on things like clay and shoe polish. Comments: it's an intellectual whisky, one that demands pipette and discussion, but it's also quite a bit of fun and pretty good I think. 
SGP: 461 - 87 points. 

Tormore 30 yo 1991/2021 (55.7%, Gordon & MacPhail 'Connoisseur's Choice', cask #15386, refill sherry butt, 488 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: lovely, rich, mature refill sherry profile, full of waxes, sweetened breakfast cereals, green fruits, dried exotic fruits and more subtle notes of pressed flowers and olive oil. Love this rather grown up, complicated style. With water: noses younger than it is now, really rich, some sharp fruits, golden syrup, figs, green plums and a hint of walnut oil. Mouth: big, rather drying, lots of dried fruits, cereals, beers, very light waxier notes, cigarette papers, mineral oils, leather and a little caramelised brown sugar. With water: the sherry seems to come through a little more assertively now, lots of tobacco, cocoa, brown bread and toasted nuts. Still very fresh and wonderfully tense. Finish: long, tense, mineral, dry, earthy, umami and even a little salty. Comments: a pretty serious and punchy dram, you feel it could easily have done another 10 years in the cask. It's another Tormore that you could sit and dissect all night with a pipette. 
SGP: 461 - 89 points.