Dramfest (I think 2021? 22?, it'd been delayed ... a bit) happened 4-5th March. I had some whisky. Possibly a reasonable amount.
Have no faith in my ratings, outside of the two official tastings. Of course, if you agree, then they were the product of deep and insightful tastings.
I might be a little in love with this distillery, so given all the other options for tastings I could have gone to, it was always going to be this.
Hosted by Andrew Mustard...
First fill Scottish Oak and was in there for 12-15 months.
- Nose: citrus, custard, smooth, vanilla, toffee
- Palate: citrus, oaky, vanilla, ginger
- Finish: long, smooth leading to pepper, butterscotch (initially)
This was amazing. the complexity, the depth, it couldn't have been better balanced.
9.5 or 10 /10 for me. Which did mean it set a rather high bar for the next two drams.
GlenAllachie 'Champagne Cask Finish' 8 yo, 50.5%
- Nose: wine notes, spritzic, ginger, lemon,
- Palate: ginger, butterscotch, creamy, ?limes
- Finish: relatively short
I did give it a 9, but this was the disappointing one (!). I liked how the ginger and butterscotch continues to show through as a house style (?) no matter what they're finishing the whisky in. Again, beautifully balanced, but lacking some of the depth of the other two. Would definitely drink again.
GlenAllachie 'Mizunara Cask Finish' 17 yo 50.56%
- Nose: custard,spicy, chestnuts, chocolate, orange, hint of ginger
- Palate: honey, sugar, berries, hazelnuts, ginger
- Finish:chewy, very long, complex, spices (?ginger),
Before you ask, Mizunara is Japanese oak (thanks Andrew, and Wiki), it is, apparently a prick to make barrels from.
If the whisky it produces is this good, I'm ok with that. This was perfection in a glass.
10/10
Look, my love for GlenAllachie (well ok, anything BW makes) is pretty clear, but these were exceptional whiskies. None are available, yet, as they haven't decided when to bottle (I helpfully suggested 'nows good').
-B
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