Glenallachie 7 Year Battlehill (Duncan Taylor)

Very unique. Strong taste

Another pour provided by @GenerouslyPaul to the tasting group. Glenallchie 7 year by independent bottler Duncan Taylor. What beholds this brew? Nutty, fruity and tropical are the base aromas. Pecans, walnuts, apples, pears, fresh diced pineapples, coconut, apricots. Some spice of cinnamon with a touch of vanilla and caramel. Sherry influence becomes more apparent over time. There is an overtone of acetone that detracts from the base aromas. On first sip, a strong, there is wave of pepper spice and oak. Once the palate gets acclimated, a course and oily bitterness takes control and renders any other flavors almost undetectable. Peeping through the vortex of bitterness is a trace of toffee sweetness and roasted nuts that lasts for the briefest of moments. Another wave of sharp spice comes forward towards the finish. Bitter, dry and short is how the palate remains: Orange rinds and oak. Diffused and unfocused. The nose is promising but no real foundation. The palate is contains no real flavor other than bitterness. There is potential but it requires time and maybe fresher casks? [82/100][Tasted: 5/11/18]

I’m trying to get back on our distillery sample group track again- I’ve been a bit distracted by lots of work, and overtime, along with buying a bunch of new bottles I don’t really have the time or money for. I believe I have a whisky spending problem. Anyway, I’m finally trying to get dialed back in to sampling. Up next, Speyside distillery: Glenallachie. This particular bottle is from Duncan Taylor’s Battlehill independent group. It’s a 7 year old example that’s bottled at a cask strength of 55% ABV. I don’t believe this one has added color and I think it’s non-chill filtered, as well. Inside the Glencairn glass it’s a deep, mellow gold and it looks quite oily. The nose started out with some overbearing notes like ex-bourbon cask: spicy, black pepper and charred oak. After some time and once it settled, the true maturation in sherry casks show up: sweet berries, dark raisin with a little bit of lemon zest. It’s still a bit of a mess because the notes all seem to be rotating through the glass and not connected. One minute it’s this, the next it’s something else. No harmony. The palate is predominantly youthful- spicy oak barrel and overly bitter. It’s oily, though, and that leads to the negative aspects sticking around too long. The mid palate turns toward toffee and roasted nuts, but it’s a bit late to the party and I’m really ready for this to end. The finish is short-to-medium and remains bitter until it leaves some orange marmalade and toffee hanging behind. Shrug. Overall, this one is too “all over the place” for me. The oily youthfulness causes flavors that you’d usually want to be masked to just stay put. That’s the biggest downfall here IMO. If this one just kind of did it’s thing and moved on I could overlook some of the faults, maybe blame it mostly on the spirit’s age, whatever. Thanks to @Generously_Paul for sending this one so we could take another step towards our goal, but this one falls short. 2.5 stars since I’m feeling a little generous. Cheers.

The nose brought a huge note of pine, along with lemongrass, and vanilla. Hmm, the palate brings more lemons, meringue, custard, cream, butter, and some vegetative properties. The finish was short and tangy. Not my cup of tea, but if you like lemon tarts, it might be up your alley. 2.5 for me. The theme song has got to be “Lemon” by Macphisto... or should I say U2. Not a fave, but thanks so much for the sample Paul! This dram blows my mind because everyone is getting totally different things from it.

A sample provided by @Generously_Paul for our little tasting team. Have you ever heard of a tropical fruit called durian? It’s a large green outer skin fruit with a yellow fleshy center, grows primarily in Southeast Asia. It has an absolutely horrible fungal smell, but once you get past that smell, it taste decent. This here reminded me of that. I couldn’t stand the aroma...vegetal and fungal. A bit plastic-y. Honestly had the hardest time getting by the smell. Once I took a sip, not so bad. Hazelnuts and toffee; peppery , spicy. Finish is quick and a bit bitter. Just not for me, can’t get past the aroma. Acknowledge and move on to the next sample...

Stop number 65 on the SDT is Glenallachie. This Speyside distillery is on the younger side, having been built in 1967. It’s primary use is in different Chivas Brothers blends. It’s has changed owners several times, most recently sold in 2017 to Billy Walker and a few other investors in what’s known as the GlenAllachie Distillers Company Limited. Enough history, on to the bottle. This bottle comes from the independent bottlers at Duncan Taylor as part of their Battlehill line of single malts. This 7 year old is bottled at 55% ABV, and though there is no indication either way, I believe this is non chill filtered and natural color of yellow gold. Only 1200 bottles were released. The nose starts with rich and intense sherry. Initially it feels like a 60/40 blend of Glenfarclas/Macallan. Nutty, maybe Brazil nuts or hazelnut. Quite fruity. Raisins, dates, cherries, oranges, tangerines, grilled plums, red apple skins, red grapes and red berries. Quite the fruit salad. Brown sugar, barley sugar, toffee and caramel with a light mint. Wood spices in the form of cinnamon, clove and ginger. Dark chocolate with a little cayenne pepper in it. Honey, heavily charred oak and a slightly vegetal/green pepper note. Quite complex for only 7 years in the cask. Intense and peppery on the palate at first, expected at 55%. Sherried oak, toffee and caramel. Oranges, dates, cherries and chocolate. A little bitter, oak tannins. A dash of water takes away some of the bitterness and reveals a light tobacco note and some toasted nuts. Medium to full bodied mouthfeel. Thick and oily. The finish is medium long with toffee, sherry, tannins, oranges and oak. I have to say this is much better than I expected from a 7 year old independent bottling. A great value for a 55% ABV single malt at only $55. It’s a real shame that there isn’t more consistency of quality amongst the different independents out there. If the palate on this on didn’t have the bitterness it would have gotten a higher score. As it sits it’s a solid 4. Cheers