The GlenAllachie 21-year-old Cask Strength

The GlenAllachie Distillery is celebrating the festive season by adding a very small batch release expression to its range – Batch One of The GlenAllachie 21-year-old Cask Strength single malt Scotch whisky.

After a remarkable period of innovation and achievement, which saw a 50th award win in just 3 years, a very limited release of only 1,600 bottles of the 21-year-old Cask Strength will be available worldwide.

The expression will be batch-released on an annual basis and is intended to cater to both whisky enthusiasts and the festive gifting market.

“Whisky lovers can anticipate a single malt which reveals an indulgent combination of fruit cake and treacle, alongside stewed plums, dark chocolate shavings and sweet cinnamon pancakes”

The first instalment of The GlenAllachie 21-year-old Cask Strength single malt features five Pedro Ximénez (PX) puncheons and hogsheads from 1997 and 1998 which have been hand-picked and married together by Master Distiller/Blender of the Year, Billy Walker (Icons of Whisky Awards, 2020).

Specially selected from The GlenAllachie’s enviable stock of over 50,000 casks, the PX puncheons and hogsheads impart rich, sherried tones upon the distinctive butterscotch and chocolate flavours of the distillery’s archetypal spirit.

The resulting first batch of the 21-year-old Cask Strength has been bottled at 51.4% and is unchillfiltered for maximum flavour. The intense mahogany colour of the whisky is drawn from its contact with the PX casks, with no artificial colouring added.

There are some whiskies which are simply a pleasure to create; our 15-year-old which we launched in 2019 was one, and this new 21-year-old is undoubtedly another. Sherry casks of this vintage are scarce, so I have been carefully monitoring each since we bought the distillery in anticipation of releasing a very special and beautifully aged expression at its peak.

These casks have now achieved the perfect balance of sherried depth and complexity, which we have bottled at natural cask strength to showcase the full experience that these casks deliver.

Whisky lovers can anticipate a single malt which reveals an indulgent combination of fruit cake and treacle, alongside stewed plums, dark chocolate shavings and sweet cinnamon pancakes
– Billy Walker: Master Distiller/Blender of the Year

In 2020, The GlenAllachie has launched several acclaimed releases; from a second batch of limited edition Wood Finishes to its recent Virgin Oak Series, Batch 4 of its cask strength 10-year-old single malt, and a third instalment of single cask bottlings exclusively for UK specialist retail.

Colour: Intense mahogany
Nose: Waves of dark chocolate, heather honey, mocha and orange zest, with notes of grapefruit and cinnamon
Taste: A rich mix of fruit cake, heather honey and treacle, fused with stewed plums, dark chocolate, orange peel, cinnamon and ginger.

GlenAllachie is available to buy from these Merchants:-

• The Whisky Exchange
• Master of Malt
• Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
• Abbey Whisky
• The Little Whisky Shop
• Tyndrum Whisky

Further information on the distillery and company can be found at theglenallachie.com

“There’s something magical about bottling whisky straight from the cask… “

Hot on the heels of its recent Virgin Oak Series, The GlenAllachie Distillery is launching Batch 4 of its cask strength 10-year-old single malt, and releasing a third instalment of single cask bottlings, including a 31-year-old whisky (£530 RRP) matured in an Oloroso hogshead, exclusively for the UK.

The GlenAllachie 10 Years Old Cask Strength, Batch 4, follows in the footsteps of its predecessor Batch 3, which was awarded Best Scotch Speyside Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2020.

Batch 4 (£58.99 RRP), which is a limited release of 2,600 cases worldwide, is a combination of Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry puncheons along with a small quantity of virgin oak casks. Bottled at 56.1%, natural colour and non-chill filtered, it delivers a perfect balance of fruit, dark chocolate and spice with underlying classic GlenAllachie sweet honey notes.

The third instalment of single casks consists of six cask strength single malts, all specially selected by Master Distiller Billy Walker from among the 50,000 casks in the distillery’s warehouses in Aberlour.

The batch of single casks consists of a 31-year-old Oloroso hogshead (£530 RRP), a 15-year-old Virgin Oak (£106 RRP), a 13-year-old First Fill Bourbon Barrel (£96 RRP), a 12-year-old Ruby Port Pipe (£90 RRP), a 12-year-old Rioja Barrel (£90 RRP), and an 11-year-old Sauternes Barrel (£86 RRP). All the bottles are hand-numbered, and offered at cask strength, natural colour and are non-chill filtered.

Each single cask expression showcases Walker’s renowned expertise in wood management, steering the unique interaction of wood, spirit and subsequent flavour development, which has been gained during his extensive career in the whisky industry.

There’s something magical about bottling whisky straight from the cask – without any water or colouring being added, this is whisky in its purest form. Batch 3 of our cask strength 10-year-old has set the bar high, but we’re excited to share this new bottling which has a perfect balance of fruit, dark chocolate and spice with the underlying classic sweet honey notes of the GlenAllachie.

With our new instalment of single casks, we’re demonstrating the unique interaction of our spirit with different types of wood and how that creates incredible flavours. For example, the 31-year-old has intense flavours of dark chocolate, orange zest, grapefruit and ginger thanks to the greater interaction between spirit and wood provided by the slightly smaller Oloroso hogshead.
– Billy Walker: Master Distiller

This passion for exploring different barrels and types of wood was also reflected in the recent GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series, a new limited edition range of Speyside single malt whiskies which have undergone secondary maturation in specially selected casks of different oak species from specific regions around the world.

Released in early October, on the back of winning a 50th award in three years, The GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series consists of three limited edition 12-year-old single malt whiskies; the 12-year-old French Virgin Oak Finish, the 12-year-old Spanish Virgin Oak Finish, and the 12-year-old Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish.

Further information on the distillery and company can be found at theglenallachie.com

Colour: Straw Gold.
Nose: Heather honey, peaches, apricots and notes of ginger.
Taste: Brimming with heather honey, peaches and apricots, fused with hazelnuts and grapefruit.

GlenAllachie is available to buy from these Merchants:-

• The Whisky Exchange
• Master of Malt
• Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
• Abbey Whisky
• The Little Whisky Shop
• Tyndrum Whisky

GlenAllachie Distillery Sept 2020.
Pictures Simon Price/Firstpix Photography

The GlenAllachie Distillery is launching The GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series, a new limited edition range of Speyside single malt whiskies which have been finished in specially selected casks of different oak species from specific regions around the world.

Released in October, on the back of winning a 50th award in three years, The GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series consists of three limited edition 12 year-old single malt whiskies; the 12-year-old French Virgin Oak Finish, the 12-year-old Spanish Virgin Oak Finish, and the 12-year-old Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish.

Each whisky in the Virgin Oak series is first matured in American Oak (Quercus Alba) ex-Bourbon barrels. To add a delicate and distinctive twist to the taste, the whisky then undergoes additional maturation for approximately 18 months in specially selected virgin oak casks. Each whisky is non chill filtered, natural colour, bottled at 48%, and limited to around 1,100 cases of each.

GlenAllachie Distillery Sept 2020.
Pictures Simon Price/Firstpix Photography

The subtle flavour differences in the Virgin Oak series are led by a variety of influences: the oak species, the local terroir and the period of natural air drying, along with the toasting, charring and coopering of the casks. Each of these reacts uniquely with the GlenAllachie spirit, adding texture, depth and variety.

In September, the Speyside distillery picked up its 50th award in just three years, with a Double Gold at this year’s International Spirits Challenge for The GlenAllachie Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 18-year-old.

The new Virgin Oak Series showcases the expert cask sourcing and renowned wood management skills of The GlenAllachie’s Master Distiller Billy Walker who hand-picked each cask type.

The 12-year-old Spanish Virgin Oak (RRP £59.99), is finished in hogsheads made of Spanish oak (Quercus Robur) sourced from the Cantabrian Mountains in Northern Spain which have a cooler climate and greater humidity than the rest of Spain.

Before being filled, the wood is air dried for around 18 months, opening up the oak for the GlenAllachie spirit to extract its flavours. This process produces a whisky with waves of heather honey, treacle, coconut and orange zest.

For the 12-year-old French Virgin Oak Finish (RRP £59.99), Walker sourced hogsheads made of French Oak (Quercus Robur) from the Haute-Garonne region close to the Pyrenees. The fine-grained, consistent wood is air dried for 15 months before hosting the GlenAllachie spirit. The result is a rich bronze malt with a subtle, sweet and earthy taste.

For the 12-year-old Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish (RRSP £59.99), Walker selected casks from the Northern Ozark region in Missouri. Chinquapin is a sub species of Quercus Alba and delivers spicy flavours and aromas. Air dried for almost four years, then toasted to medium level, the casks create complex, zesty flavours with notes of heather honey, barley sugar, toasted biscuit and orange zest, followed by cinnamon, rosehips and liquorice.

With this new range, I wanted to explore and showcase the different range of flavours that can be created with different types of virgin oak. Lots of people have matured or finished whisky in virgin oak before, but I wanted to take things further and explore what happens when you use different derivatives of virgin oak – for example with different terroir, different drying periods and different toasting and charring levels.

There’s an understanding that good whisky matured in good wood makes something special. But I wanted to put good whisky in spectacular types of wood, wood with real history and unique characteristics.

I’m constantly looking for interesting types of wood and with this range we found three exceptional examples from France, Spain and the USA that have helped create three very different and special whiskies.

With the French virgin oak for example, the wood is very finely grained and rich, which creates a lovely sweet, earthy flavour with silky tannins. The pores of the Spanish virgin oak are less tight and it’s been naturally air dried for a slightly longer period which imparts more flavour, with the distinctive spicy, treacly notes.

The Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish is significantly different. The wood has been dried for a much longer period which creates really interesting flavours of liquorice and even hints of rosehips.
– Billy Walker: The GlenAllachie’s Master Distiller

Further information on the distillery and company can be found at theglenallachie.com

Taste: Layers of heather honey, barley sugar, toasted biscuit and orange zest, followed by cinnamon, rosehips and liquorice.

GlenAllachie is available to buy from these Merchants:-

• The Whisky Exchange
• Master of Malt
• Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
• Abbey Whisky
• The Little Whisky Shop
• Tyndrum Whisky