GlenAllachie 15yr

46% (Sept 2020 vatting)

If you haven't heard of GlenAllachie yet..... where have you been?

Briefly, a distillery that was built in the late 1960s, in its short life has gone through a number of owners, as well as being mothballed when it was just 18 years old in 1985.

In 2017, Billy Walker, Trisha Savage, and Graham Stevenson became the new owners of the distillery and things changed.

And oh boy did things change for this distillery.

In the short space of time under the Wizard-like hands of Billy, lovers of sherried whisky have had literal liquid diamonds showered upon them. A plethora of sherried whisky (and other cask-types), have appeared very regularly and have reminded people that you don't have to lean towards Macallan, GlenDronach, or some of the other sherrybomb producers to get your sherry-hit without breaking the bank. The GlenAllachie style has well and truly hit the world and it's fast becoming a number one hit, globally. But that's as much down to the skills of Billy Walker as it is the quality of the spirit and the casks in use.

In August 2019, the distillery released the 15 years old, and it went into the battle arena with a very sharp sword and an attitude.

Appearance: Deep chestnut

Nose: Huge wafts of soft and sticky sweet sherry, cake spice, and vanilla. Woody notes are there that are accompanied by a faint nuttiness. Creamy caramel, cherry cake, and maple syrup candy.

Palate: Instant sherry gratification. Pepper-studded toffee wakes up the senses and then reveals aromatic cake spice, slightly soured cherries, nuttiness, and another wave of sweetness. A slight oiliness is there..

Finish: Long, sweet & spicy. The sherry-sweetness lingers before allowing vanilla and fruit-note to come into the room.

Conclusion: An immense and fantastic 15yr whisky. This particular batch from the distillery (that is still available at the time of this review), is just phenomenal. And the previous batch was damn good as well.

At the price point of around £60-ish, this is a must-buy for anyone who is either a seasoned whisky drinker or someone who’s on the fence about whisky in general. And for SherryBombers, it is a no-brainer. I’ve given so many samples out of my own bottles, as I’m so confident it will be a hit. I need to stop doing this as it’s costing me a fortune!

Read GlenAllachie's story here.

Available at most good specialist whisky retailers (if they know their stuff)