Glenallachie The Duchess 24 Years Old Selected by Watt Whisky Cask 23 55.1% 1995


4.1 sterren - 4 professionele reviews
€ 109,00 (excl. BTW)
131,89 (in. BTW)
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(max. 22)
Distileerderij GlenAllachie
Bottelaar The Duchess
Serie GAME & WILDLIFE SERIES
Gebotteld voor
Gedistilleerd op 12.12.1995
Gebotteld 13.08.2020
Land Schotland
Streek Speyside
Leeftijd 24
Cask Type Hogshead
Vatnummer 23
Alcohol percentage 55.1
Inhoud 0,70
Conditie Perfect
Etiket Perfect
Voorraad 22

Professionele reviews

Malt Fascination (89)

Earlier this week I got a sample in the mail of a to-be-released GlenAllachie, and today is the day that it’s available from various shops. Let’s start by expressing a bit of gratitude towards Nils of Best of Wines/Best of Whiskies.

Then,GlenAllachie. A distillery that no one paid any attention to until it was bought by Billie Walker, of BenRiach/GlenDronach/GlenGlassaugh fame. He sold the three distilleries to Brown Forman a while ago and has since bought GlenAllachie.

They’ve been releasing fairly awesome single casks since, with quite a few releases for specific markets. It seems some money was needed to pay the bills…

Anyway, a distillery that has become quite popular in my little circle of geeks, and rightfully so. Not everything is solid what comes out, but most of it is worth the money and quite good. Unfortunately the older single casks are unaffordable. The regular 25 clocks in over € 200, which I think is too expensive for what it is. Similarly aged single casks cross the € 300 line.

This one then, comes in at € 200, which is affordable for what it is. That doesn’t mean it’s cheap since there’s a lot of money involved, but it’s comparatively affordable. Which is nice, in this day and age.

This cask was picked by Mark Watt, of Watt Whisky, and a previous post on this here blog. This makes my expectation of it even higher, since I know and appreciate the man’s palate.

Let’s see if it lives up to its price point!

Sniff:
Gentle on the bourbon cask with a good balance between cask, barley and spirit. Autumn leaves, puff pastry, moss. It’s quite light with some very crisp herbaceous notes.

Sip:
The palate is a bit hotter than I expected. Dry, with some freshly sawn oak. Black pepper, dried breadcrumbs, puff pastry. Some vanilla, moss and ferns, autumn leaves. I get dried apple peel and a whiff of bitterness later on.

Swallow:
The finish shows a bit more cask. Some vanilla, pastry cream, sawdust.

Yes, this does live up to the price point. It’s just shy of a 90-pointer for me, but I love that the time in oak has done a lot for the whisky without overpowering it. It’s still very much about the balance between oak and spirit, which is what whisky is about.

It seems like, just like with their rums, these guys know what they’re doing.

BOW (90)

Tasting Notes Courtesy of Mark Watt, Watt whisky Company.

Nose: Light citrusy and quite creamy. Peaches, whiff of mango chutney and growing citrus fruits.
Taste: Syrupy, chewy and some more exotic fruits. Tinned peaches in Syrup, clementines and preserved lemons.
Finish: Long and creamy and citrusy, can taste the age but not woody.

Comment. I really like this, fresh but you can taste the age, really good mouth feel with some old school fruitiness.

Serge Valentin (85)

Angus McRaild;

Yet more birds on whisky labels, we will know the world has stopped turning when the indy bottlers run out of avian wildlife with which to adorn labels. Colour: bright straw. Nose: very light, gentle orchard fruits with an underripe sharpness about them. So pears, apples and gooseberries all rather green and crisp. Some firmer maltiness behind all that and some sunflower oil. With water: still rather dry and gentle, some pollens, Bakelite, yellow flowers and oatmeal. Mouth: a bit more assertive and charismatic than the nose, which is fun. More on shoe polish, oily cereals, buttered breads, dried flowers, canvass and putty. Pretty good I think. With water: slightly juicier with some yellow plums and dried apricot, some plasticine, fennel seed and a single spoonful of custard. Quite funny whisky really. Finish: medium and still a bit drying, lightly peppery, dusty and more of these pressed and dried flower feelings. Comments: It's really a palate whisky in my book, one for a tumbler and gentle sipping rather than a nosing glass. Same ballpark as the OB 12yo but a world apart stylistically.

Words of Whisky (88)

Nose: It is very crisp and lemon-y with dried barley husks and a whisper of burlap. Touches of apple compote, quinces and sweet peaches. Finally a whisper of grapefruit, this is getting more citrusy as we go along.
Taste: A creamy mouthfeel and gentle arrival with a good amount of citrus and some stone fruits. Soft notes of white pepper and cloves too, with finally a surprising mineral touch.
Finish: Lingering spices and lemon pith. Ending on notes of orchard fruits. Quite long.

Score: 88

Excellent single cask from Glenallachie with a mature flavour profile that’s getting rare these days. Not cheap, but I suppose nowadays that’s the going price for single malts of this age. You could certainly do much worse than spending your money on this. Lovely pick by Mark Watt and Best of Whiskies.


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