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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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July 25, 2025 |
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Indie Allt-A-Bhainne in a duo |
We really enjoy these little low-key sessions, and this time we'll steer well clear of any debates or controversies about the various spellings of this very modern distillery's name. Well, it was modern when it was built by Seagram back in the 1970s. |
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Allt-A-Bhainne 7 yo 2016/2024 (61.7%, DH Global Spirits, 1st fill oloroso octave, cask #1031738C, 57 bottles) 
A small outturn, very young, but that means nothing. I mean it could be very good… Colour: red macassar (if such a hue truly exists). Nose: straight onto prunes in Armagnac and orange liqueur, then chocolate leaning towards artisanal Nutella (if such a thing exists). We’re then onto millionaire’s shortbread and a cashew tart doused in maple syrup. You see where this is going. With water: pecans and roasted peanuts, slathered in chestnut honey. Mouth (neat): red fruits cooked in honey and Spanish mandarin liqueur, all on a bed of chocolate sauce. With water: we’re back with all manner of roasted oily nuts glazed in honey and caramel, the whole lot splashed with triple sec. Finish: long, more chocolatey. Comments: you could say this little Allt-A-Bhainne is doggedly ploughing its own furrow! We do enjoy this style of young little beast, very well put together…
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
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Allt-A-Bhainne 27 yo 1995/2024 (52.6%, Milroy’s, Vintage Reserve, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel) 
It’s not every day one gets to taste a fairly old Allt-A-Bhainne, and let us hope, at least, that it’s close to the distillate. Colour: gold. Nose: this is very much ‘natural Speyside’, imagine baked apples and pears gently placed atop a bed of custard. Fair enough, you may add a bit of meringue if you like. With water: banana foam of the highest pedigree and marshmallow, with even a faint whiff of 1970s Jell-O – I swear I’m not making this up. Mouth (neat): this is lovely, quite ‘high definition’, curiously but charmingly mentholated, then we’re off with lemon balm and a whole medley of wee citrus fruits, starting with bergamot. We a.d.o.r.e. bergamot at WF. With water: more fresh malt now and a very citrus-forward hop character. In short, it’s like a top-notch, high-ABV IPA. Has someone distilled and aged an IPA already, or am I dreaming? Perhaps our Californian friends? Finish: long and brimming with freshness, which might be slightly dangerous, all things considered. Comments: these two Allt-A-Bhainnes were quite different, yet they both had this shared fruity vibrancy. Honestly, I swear, we really must go and have a word about A-A-B’s house style with the blenders at Pernod Ricard.
SGP:641 - 88 points. |
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