A small Glenallachie pick-up


March 31, 2026

A small Glenallachie pick-up

(mostly an excuse to try the new 35 yo)

We won’t be tasting any peated whiskies this time round, even though we think they’re very well made. You know, the Meikle Toirs… We’ll save those for next time.

(Glenallachie)

Glenallachie 2015/2025 ‘The Sinteis Series Part II’ (58.2%, OB, Scottish virgin oak & Oloroso)

This is an improbable marriage of casks, the first in the series had been Chinkapin + PX and that had worked pretty well in our humble opinion (WF 84). Colour: deep gold. Nose: it starts a little dusty and rather on sawdust, with touches of shoe polish and bitter cocoa. The wood is very prominent, that’s for sure, but water ought to loosen all that up. With water: kirsch, baker’s yeast, very hoppy beer. Yes, this is better. Mouth (neat): chocolate, orange liqueur, peppers, nutmeg, turmeric… It’s really all-out on the wood, only the orange keeping some semblance of fruity freshness for now. With water: ginger, peppers, oak, bitter green walnut… Finish: same again. Bitter chocolate, coffee bean. Comments: it’s good, of course, but I find this really rather technical and not especially easy. In short, we had found the #1 very largely superior.
SGP:471 - 77 points.

Glenallachie 2007/2025 (59.1%, OB, The Whisky Exchange Exclusive, virgin oak barrel, cask #6453, 272 bottles)

We might perhaps have started with this one, but be that as it may, here we are again in front of some hyper-active oak. Carpenter’s whisky, as people sometimes say, but let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: my goodness, but this is another world altogether, one of ripe banana, vanilla, peanut butter, cornflakes, but also fresh hay and camomile tea. All things we like very much, all the more so as while there is indeed quite a lot of coconut too, it remains balanced. With water: fresh citrus, orange cream, a few drops of Malibu. Mouth (neat): these malts are sometimes called ‘Scottish bourbons’, but that isn’t a criticism, it’s simply that there’s a lot of coconut, vanilla and ‘oak-driven’ citrus. With water: it finds its balance again, croissants, toast, freshly ground pepper, ginger and turmeric… Finish: long, certainly woody, but with some lovely citrus. Comments: for a moment I thought we were simply faced with yet another woodsky, but in the end it found a fine balance. A very lovely selection.
SGP:561 - 81 points.

Glenallachie 2010/2024 (62.4%, OB, Germany Exclusive, Koval bourbon barrel, cask #2470, 149 bottles)

Koval’s a very good name, everything should be fine here. Colour: gold. Nose: it is much more ‘neutral’, neutrality being a quality here. Barley, vanilla, fresh bread, pancakes… and quite a lot of ethanol. With water: we’ve got it, buttercream scented with orange blossom. Killer stuff. Mouth (neat): yes, classic, vibrant, admittedly the oak is rather marked once again (peppers) but there is a freshness on small herbs and little citrus fruits that makes the whole rather very appealing (20 years ago we would have written ‘sexy’). With water: ah yes, very good, on oranges of all sizes and origins, teas and herbal infusions, and a triumphant return of the barley. Finish: long, taut, fresh, almost refreshing. But at 62.4%, do be careful. Comments: the distillate is back.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

It’s probably time to invite an indie…

Glenallachie 12 yo 2012/2025 (58.6%, Single Cask Nation, online exclusive, new toasted oak hogshead, cask #171842, 188 bottles)

Online exclusive? We are online, aren’t we? Colour: gold. Nose: truth be told, this is an official indie, by which I mean that it’s close in spirit to the official bottlings, rather dominated by the wood. How would we characterise Glenallachie’s distillate? Exactly. In short, it’s still rather pleasant, on Danish pastries, vanilla, green tea, balsa wood and cedarwood, mirabelles… All of that is lovely, without any doubt. With water: freshly sawn fir wood, a stack of logs in the countryside… Mouth (neat): white pepper, grey pepper, tobacco, unsweetened black tea… It is still rather marked by the wood, honestly. With water: some grapefruit comes along to lift it all, but that includes the pips and the peel. You see what I mean. Finish: long, a little better balanced, but the woodiness remains to the fore. Comments: I had loved all the other new Single Cask Nation bottlings I’ve been able to taste, so let’s just say I find this one just a tiny wee bit too ‘official’ for my liking. But utterly love Single Cask Nation, globally.
SGP:561 - 81 points.

We’ll end on a very recent old vintage, just hoping it hasn’t been too ‘ultra re-racked’.

Glenallachie 35 yo 1990/2026 (50.2%, OB)

Natural cask strength here, naturally (S.!) Careful, this baby will have seen four types of casks, virgin mizunara oak, American virgin oak, oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximénez sherry. Which does not necessarily make it a woodsky, let us not leap to hasty conclusions, please, even if there must inevitably have been some finishings and plenty of woodspiel… The truth resides in the glass, I remind you. Colour: mahogany. Nose: walnut husk, toffee, fir bud liqueur and very old Jerez brandy. All of that works like a Rolex just back from a service at an authorised watchmaker. With water: fresher, almost fruity, more on very ripe figs and dates stuffed with marzipan. Murderously good. Mouth (neat): but of course it is excellent. Old Ténarèze married to that very old Jerez brandy we had just mentioned, prunes, pipe tobacco, tamarind jam, and a woodiness that is present but elegant, in the style of very black ex-samovar tea. With water: in come the old fortified wines, Banyuls, Madeiras, Ports, Marsalas, Malagas and many more besides. The very black teas and the cocoa in the background remind us of the rather massive presence of the wood, but all in full elegance. Finish: it carries on with very dark chocolate filled with liqueur. Even Jägermeister. Comments: very fine balancing act, insofar as I may modestly judge such things.
SGP:461 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Glenallachie we've tasted