GlenAllachie 10 Year Cask Strength Batch 7

Appearance (no score): Deep brown hue. Unable to observe legs due to what appeared to be a water-repellent coating on the tasting glass. Nose: 17/20 Plums, figs, and raisins initially dominate a thick, sweet aroma. With time and aeration, hints of red wine tannins and ripe pears emerge. It manages to be sweet without being cloyingly so. Palate: 32/40 Thick and very sweet, reminiscent of cough syrup but lacking the medicinal menthol. Beyond that sweetness, I detect cherries, honey, strawberry preserves, and dark chocolate. Finish: 32/40 Long finish. The syrupy sweetness from the palate persists, but a chili pepper heat provides an initial kick. This fades into oak spices and leather before concluding with a menthol flavor. The finish is pleasant, but the lingering menthol leaves it tasting too medicinal for my preference. With Water: Adding a drop of water brings out additional spices, nutmeg on the palate, followed by cinnamon and oak spice in the finish, while also reducing the menthol note. Total: 81/100 Final thoughts: It's excessively sweet and very good, but not well-balanced. A little water is required to make it truly enjoyable. Thanks to my brother for the sample. Price: gifted sample Would recommend: no Would buy: no

This marks my third bottle from Glenallachie, a distillery I haven't yet connected with. This particular one is the seventh edition of their 10-year-old cask strength releases. A massive 60,000 bottles were produced, a significant increase from the already large batch 6. I already have reservations about quality with such a production jump. It follows the same recipe as recent releases: PX, Oloroso, virgin oak, and some type of red wine cask (I believe it's red). It sounds a bit chaotic, but I'm hoping it will impress me. Nose - Initially, it smells like some kind of medicinal oak, followed by notes of spoiled red wine. There's also horse hair and blankets. Unfortunately, I'm not thinking "oh dear, something's wrong" because I had the 15-year, which, while much more pleasant, definitely presented some similar characteristics. Even my 29-year-old single cask gives me similar "what the heck" oak notes. Pushing past the unpleasant oak and wine, I detect nice berries, hints of chocolate, and indeed a pleasant sherry component. I'm beginning to suspect some of these off-notes are their malt, though I recall having a fairly good ex-bourbon independent bottling. Taste - The taste is thankfully much easier to approach. Sweet, warming, rich, and complex flavors rapidly emerge; I'll need some time to fully assess them. Right away, it's chocolate and sherry richness with a thick, sweet malt. This then encounters some umami/wine and heavy oak... combined with a nutty and rustic malt character. I'm envisioning something like steak sauce mixed with farm-like elements, plus baking chocolate, and then just substantial oak notes. I can't say I dislike it, but I also don't feel compelled to drink it. Adding a significant amount of water shifts it towards more of a chocolate oak with a touch of still and butterscotch, and the barnyard funk persists. I might actually prefer it with the added water? Folks, I have no idea how to score this. I'll give it a 1.5. It's under 100 pounds in the UK. It's cask strength, and the color is at least natural. For those aspects alone, I suppose it's acceptable. But I genuinely don't understand who this whisky is intended for.

Virtual tasting notes from Good Spirits Co. Glasgow on March 18, 2022. Nose: Dried fruit, spices for baking, cinnamon, coffee, molasses, orange, milk chocolate. Palate: Dark chocolate, raisins, dried figs, plums, peach. Hints of vanilla and orange are present but overshadowed by the sherry finish. Finish: A lengthy finish with PX sherry, chocolate, coffee, mocha, raisins, and cherries. Lingering leather and dry tannic oak on the palate. It's substantial and intricate. Sweetness, coffee, and chocolate are prominent, yet there are subtle notes of peach, orange, port, and vanilla. Much is happening here. Another impressive Glenallachie sherry expression. Enjoyable for a 56.8% ABV spirit! Exceptionally easy to drink. Ranked tied for last among the six samples, receiving 0% of the votes for the evening's favorite. 87% of attendees indicated they enjoyed the whisky.

Nose: vanilla, clove, cinnamon, cherry, gig Palate: caramel, sherry, sweet. Finish: some burn, long. Adding water didn't alter it much. It's very good, but difficult to articulate why. 7.5

The 57% alcohol content is not apparent. Flavors of milk chocolate, honey, dried fruits, and prune, with a little spice. The smell and taste suggest a significant influence from Pedro Ximenez. I really enjoyed it.

Aroma: honey, figs, plums. Taste: sherry, fruit cake. Finish: more stewed fruits. Very smooth. A pleasant sherry-forward scotch with good balance. It drinks as if it were lower proof.