October tasting at Regional, a loose linking to Billy, we don't think he was involved in many/any of these but he did work or significantly influence the distilleries. But eh the line-up looked great, so ...
Cadenhead GlenAllachie 17yo 46%
N: fresh, sweet, elegant, apple/pear, cut grass, sourdough
P: apple, spicy, tart, ginger, vanilla,
F: sour, warm, med-long
8.5/10 great start to the evening! Hey it's a GlenAllachie it's not going to be bad, and whatever Cadenhead's had decided to do with it, worked really well.
Came 7th with 7.83
GlenAllachie 15yo 46%
N: sweet, sherry, big, earthy, honey, cigar, xmas, woody
P: warm but light, tart, earthy, chocolate, salt, timber, bitter, sultanas,
F: short-med, bitter, dry marmalade
7/10 Didn't work for me, sure it's nice enough but not a winner.
Came 6th with 8.05
Cadenhead Benriach 12yo 46%
N: creamy, bourbon, dry, hint of salt?, spun sugar, vanilla/oak, honeysuckle
P: rausbier, creaming soda, balanced, sour, woody, minerals
F: med, woody
8.5-9/10 Really liked this one, lovely creamy whisky reflecting a bit of age and the cask, the smoked bier flavour was unexpected
Came 5th with 8.09
Glendronach 26yo 16.7.1993-2019 PX 6834 54.4%
N: pear, apple, spikey, minerals, oaky, incr alc, plum, sweet nose finish
P: spikey, smoke, no complexity
F: long hot finish
7/10 didn't work for me, which was pleasing given how expensive it is, came 4th with 8.29
Glenglassaugh The Whisky Cellar Series 3 58.5% 6yo oloroso quarter cask
N: caramelised sugar, salted caramels, vanilla essence, egg'n'creme lolly, tannins, sweet
P: big, incr alc, salt, sweet, menthol
F: huge finish
8/10 possibly too big for what it was trying to do, may have needed more time in the cask? But it came second with 9.07
GlenAllachie Cask Strength Batch #8 10yo 57.2%
N: sweet, rich, flyspray, creme brulee, lemon, maple syrup, very sweet
P: complex, aged wood, chocolate, sherry, oranges, heavy
F: long, complex, heat
9.5/10 yep, it's good. Very good. Came first 9.53
Mystery: Valley of the Rocks Cask Str 10yo #9 2023 58.1%
N: warm, sherry, lemon, big, not complex, powdered sugar, apples, cream cheese
P: sherry, warm, complex, sophisticated, bourbon sherry, chocolate
F: complex, long, lovely
9/10 yeah I liked this one a lot, I'm not sure I've got the name right - shouldn't probably check that, it came 3rd with 8.5
I picked 4 of them, so pretty happy with that, and it was a great tasting.
Slainte!
