GlenAllachie 12 Year

Spicy, okay, delicious and finishes strong.

2.75 => 3.75 => 3.5 N: deep and dark, dried fruits, sherry, caramel, toffee, nutty, cinnamon, wood, leather,tabacco => lingering dried fruits, chocolate, pepper => dried fruits, black sugar, tropical fruits, banana, pineapple, dried leaves, tobacco, leather, lots of cadied fruits, syruppy P: oily, dark grape, warm sweetness covering inside the mouth, spicy and tangy => candy sweetness, black sugar, spicy F: medium, oaky

Amber colour. N:22, P:20, F:19, B:19 Overall profile of this whisky is on a sweeter side with notes of apricot, melon, marzipan, pumpkin, pineapple and Turkish delight. Later also comes some fire smoke and chemist's nuances. The taste is jellyfish-stingy with alcohol, light nutty bitterness and astringency. Adding some water does not help to soften the alcohol burn.

Nose: Elegant. Earthy and malty with dried fruit. Some vanilla and nutty aromas in the background (almond? cashew? Turkish delight?) and supporting notes of cut-grass and wood shavings. Palate: The arrival is sweetly cereal-fruity to start with – oatmeal porridge with butter, dried apples, brown sugar and chocolate flakes. However it quickly develops spice notes, particularly cinnamon, orange zest and lemon-pepper. Cereal flavours appear again as yeasty bread and there are vegetal hints (cabbage water? baked plantain?) and tannic wood spices. There is mild bitterness throughout and particularly towards the finish from the tannins, but it is kept in check. Just. The texture is good with a creamy fullness. Finish: Medium. Dark fruit aftertaste with highlights of bittersweet orange and oak tannin. A satisfying dram, the nose is well-structured and hearty, with an old-school quality. The palate is more complex but it carries this easily, being integrated and well rounded. It’s not an easy-drinking dram but neither is it demanding. It’s a good whisky to sit back and explore but not one that requires your undivided attention. Water enlarges the profile but it also unleashes more spicy notes and loses balance in the process so I wouldn’t advise it. It has lots of flavour, a certain authority of character, and a semi-sweet balance throughout and into the finish. Bitter notes are omnipresent however and for some palates they might be a little intrusive. If the profile was a smidge softer I’d increase the rating to 4/5 but as it stands it’s just a fraction austere for my palate. Tasted at the 2021 Sydney Whisky Festival (tasting number 2 – I started at the Glanallachie table to dial my palate in with a known profile). “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)