(Editor's Note: 10 days after covid, my sense of taste and smell seem to be restored. I have sampled a variety of foods and drinks that I know very well, and finally they all smell like they are supposed to, with a full array of richness and variety. Strangely, the thing that took the longest to come back was ketchup - go figure.)
Master Distiller Billy Walker is a highly divisive figure in scotch whisky. A former research chemist, he began overseeing the distilling process at BenRiach in 2004, and moved on in the 2010s to resurrect Glenglassaugh and - famously or infamously - GlenDronach.
His time at GlenDronach is fairly well known and also somewhat notorious: he added old stock to the various GlenDronach bottlings to enrich the flavor and build the brand's reputation... but when the old stock ran low, he purportedly began re-racking lower quality stock into fresh sherry casks, but not disclosing it. People noticed that the various age statements were tasting thinner and thinner, and some bottlings were noticeably worse than before.
Right about the time that talk was at its height, Brown-Forman bought GlenDronach in 2016/2017, and Billy Walker purchased GlenAllechie. Whisky fans everywhere were hoping for a major renaissance like what happened to GlenDronach, but the last five years hasn't quite seen that pay off in quite the same way. Although it's fair to say that GlenAllachie enjoys a much higher profile than it used to, the Billy Walker era hasn't taken the world by storm, and I see many a dusty bottling of GlenAllachie on liquor store shelves here in DC.
This is the first batch of their 10 year cask strength offering after rebranding under the Billy Walker era. One would assume (or hope) that, similar to his policy at GlenDronach, Walker would shove far older whisky into this than the 10 year minimum age would imply. Alas, it doesn't seem to be true - at least, there are no reports about that happened anywhere on the net.
(Editor's note: I sampled this bottle repeatedly over a few days to make sure my nose and tongue were adequately recovered from covid. I also tasted some older open bottles I had and knew well as reference points, so I think I am giving this a fair shake. That said, I'll update the review if my impression changes in the coming days/weeks.)
This is matured 10 years in a combination of American oak, ex-Oloroso sherry, virgin oak, and ex-PX sherry. Every review I managed to dig up says the sherry influence here ranges from "negligible" to "non-existent," so these must have been very tired refill sherry casks. Too bad.
Simultaneously, every review says the virgin oak is the centerpiece here, which should be interesting: from virgin oak I usually get vanilla/caramel/toffee, fresh pepper and other dry spices, and sometimes unripe banana.
Bottled at 57.1% ABV, let's see how Billy Walker's first cask strength GlenAllachie turned out:
Nose: This smells young, but also fresh. I get sweet vanilla or vanilla extract, coconut flesh, unripe apples, cloves and allspice, poached yellow pear, and hints of peppery oak. Absolutely zero sherry influence whatsoever.
With a splash of water, I get light citrus (orange) and marshmallow, along with oak, spices, and more vanilla extract.
Mouthfeel: Thinnish, but coats the mouth adequately.
Palate: It's very hot and young. The 57.1% really blasts through on the tongue at first. I initially get a big hit of fresh spices, rich coconut (like pina colada mix), firm banana, big poached pear notes (I like this the best), malt barley, sweet cereal, some marshmallow, cinder toffee, apple and pear hard candies, and a sharp tang of bitter oak towards the end.
With water, I get more coconut and marshmallow, a little less orchard fruit ... the vanilla is more like cake icing now. A little bit grassier/maltier.
Finish: Bitter oak, pepper, marshmallow, and stewed orchard fruit. Not the very best finish I've ever had, it's medium in length but doesn't really close the experience convincingly - a little too bitter, a little too spicy. Still - adequate.
With water, the finish improves a bit and remains sweet and not so bitter for the duration.
Verdict: This is a decent cask strength Speysider. At first I wasn't impressed... but after trying two or three more samples over a few days, I liked it more and more. It's very delicate, and it takes time to develop - it really requires patience and a willingness to meet it on its own gentle terms. It also has something of a "bell curve" profile - the nose and finish aren't wonderful, but the palate is rich and makes up the meat of the experience.
As all the other reviews said, the virgin oak is doing basically all the lifting here. The sherry might as well be left off the label, there is absolutely no sherry interaction here at all. The nicest notes I get here are coconut and pear - a nice combination.
After trying this, I did some research and the consensus seems to be that Walker inherited some pretty poor stocks at GlenAllachie, and this first batch sort of reflects that. Apparently every subsequent batch - especially the most recent ones - of the Cask Strength bottlings is better than the last. Batches 5-7 are particularly well regarded.
This first batch is something of an oddity, a patchwork assembly of whatever Walker could get his hands on short notice when he took over - and it shows. It tastes a little young and unformed, it's very shy and really benefits from time to oxidize, but it does gradually develops a malty, tropical sweet-and-spicy vibe about it.
I bought this for $55, and I'd say it's worth it at that price point, but only because of the cask strength. At 46% or lower, this would be more forgettable. Therefore, I can only recommend it if you find it on the cheaper side of things... if you can even find it anymore, as this was the next-to-last bottle at a liquor store notorious for old stock. Interesting stuff, but not particularly compelling.
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