Review No.238 & 239. Glenallechie 10 Cask Strength & 12 Year Old

In my review of Lum Reek I mentioned that Glenallechie had been taken over and a new range of single malts had been released.  If you follow the whisky scene then it is hard not to notice the praise that these new releases have been getting.  The last Glenallechie I tried was the distillery edition which I think was released under the previous ownership.  It didn’t impress me at all and I had no plans to revisit any malts coming out of this distillery.  However, given all the hype with the new releases I felt compelled to give it another try.  Here I have a 10 year old cask strength and the 12 year old which has received the most praise from what I have seen.

Whisky: Glenallechie 10 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 54.8%

Nose: Vanilla, cinnamon, leather, honey, orange oil, butterscotch

Taste: Oranges, dried fruit, honey, citrus, dark chocolate, earth, chilli

Finish: Dried fruit and bitter dark chocolate

Score: 3.75

Summary:  No surprise that this one needs water and time.  The bold flavours in combination with the alcohol strength may knock you back a bit when you first smell it. Once that initial hit subsided I picked up bold bourbon flavours accompanied by spiced oranges and honey.  On the taste I got much of the same but with the addition of dark chocolate and dried fruit.  At 10 years old this is a bold single malt with grown up characteristics.  The casks have done a good job here.  I enjoyed this one a lot and would recommend as an ideal malt for the winter months.

Whisky: Glenallechie 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 46%

Nose: Cherry menthol, butterscotch, vanilla, tropical fruits, oranges, cinnamon

Taste: Malt, strawberries, butterscotch, vanilla essence, honey, walnuts, leather, coffee, chilli

Finish: Butterscotch, dark chocolate, coffee

Score: 3.75

Summary: This is very tropical at first with a lot of strong bourbon notes coming through.  It tastes stronger than 46% and I would recommend a drop of water.  Over time the initial tropical fruit mellows and out comes the butterscotch which becomes an ever present feature of this whisky throughout the tasting experience.  Then the chocolate, coffee and chilli spice notes come into the background too. Completely different to the distillery edition I tried a while back.  This is a very good single malt that is very rich. I wouldn’t say that it is complex but it does deliver on flavour and texture which indicates to me that they must have some very good casks.  I’m glad I came back.

Scoring scale: My scores reflect a balance of the overall experience, availability and cost for a whisky,

1 – not to my preference

2 – tastes fine but does not excite me

3 – more to my liking and would revisit occasionally

4 – very much to my liking and would consider as a regular feature on my whisky shelf

5 – permanent feature on my whisky shelf

Image source: www.thewhiskyexchange.com