GlenAllachie 25 Year

There is nothing like drinking a good whisky that has been discontinued, because you can say "i was responsible for its extinction of this world, and it was great". I felt exactly that when i drank this marvelous GlenAllachie 25yo, matured in Px and Oloroso Casks, distillery release. Actually, GlenAllachie, since Billy Walker bought it, has became the king of Speyside whiskies, with emormous flavors and aromas. This was no exception. Bottled at 48%abv, lovely chesnut color. On the nose, it is exactly as sweet prune that got stuck in you nose. Incredible. Very winey, rum and raisins, dates. It smells like ice cream, it actually smells cold. Chocolate, hay and glazed pork. Dark chocolate. Perfect score here. On the palate it was divine. Red wine, Red fruits, gooseberries and Tobacco. Oily but fancy. Cuban cigars Aftertaste continues the greatness of this dram. Salty, sawdust, winey, sulphur and Cigar. It felt citric everywhere. Overall, this was majestic. I don't know about you, but it is not like i am drinking 25yo whiskies everyday, and what really impressed me, is that older drams normally tend to be a little overly oaked, but this was so perfectly crafted that you are given the proper amount of oakiness to make this dram an oustanding whisky. My score for it is 97 over 100.

The nose is obviously sherried, very soft and warm, with strong dried fruit (plums, dates and candied orange) covered with chocolate. Raisin bread, caramelized butter, cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Floral and balsamic background. Rich and varied profile, with personality. Chocolate also reigns on the palate, with lots of candied orange and a pleasant pinch of chilli pepper, which is accompanied by the scent of leavened bread with hazelnuts and raisins which, together with the spices (cinnamon, of course, but also anise and nutmeg), give an acid and bitter profile, reviving the aromatic palette. Balsamic on the background, less accentuated than on the nose, and wood. Medium-long finish, sweet / bitter, with hazelnuts, plums, malt and wood. The aspects felt in the 12yo here seem amplified, kind of a consistency of aging, and appear more orderly and balanced, marking what is evidently the personality of GlenAllachie (and of the work that Walker is doing). A whisky that does not bore and knows how to stand out compared to other sherried, with the risk of not being liked by everyone, but after all... who cares! Perhaps a little overpriced given it's not particularly complex, but it deserves a taste.

(Tasting of a 25y independently bottled by Douglas Laing at 50.6 ABV) Nose: nutty, lemon, fruit tree blossoms, molasses, a bid of smoke, mixed dried green leave spices, the 50.6 ABV or not very present Palate: slight short chili burn, slightly sweet, walnut (both the nut and the shell), mild woody bitterness This whisky is quiet aggressive and it fells like it can’t decide if it really wants to or not. You get the maturity but it feels a little bid one sided. For what it offers it is complex but it definitely is not a dram for relaxation. It really challenges you. Adding water doesn’t do much for it.

Nose: Sweet caramel with some vanilla. Hints of dried fruits and buttered cinnamon toast. Palate: more dried fruit but with some carameliztion to it. Some baked desert bread too. Finish: Sweeter notes like a molasses but note super strong. Stewed fruits and some nuttiness finish things off.