GlenAllachie 12 Year Old French Oak Finish (48%, OB, 2020)

• ABV: 48%
• Age: 12 Years Old
• Bottling: OB
• Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
• Cost: £62.46 available from Master of Malt
• Origin: Glenallachie distillery
• Vintage: Undeclared

What they say

In late 2020, GlenAllachie released a trio of whiskies, each one having been finished in virgin oak casks – the range was (descriptively) called the Virgin Oak Series! This particular expression was matured for 12 years, including a finishing period in French oak casks, made with wood from the Haute-Garonne region. Said wood was air dried for 15 months before being filled with GlenAllachie’s excellent whisky.

MoM tasting notes:

Nose: Buttery at first, with layers of orange oil, mocha and heather honey.

Palate: A slow build of toasted oak, tangy citrus, toffee and cinnamon. A hint of earthy barley comes through later on.

Finish: Earthy coffee bean balanced by sweet orchard fruit.

What I say

Dram #3 from WOLS 2020 T8 Cask Finishes Tasting. Sensing we are on a theme here so my next guess was French or Spanish – I went French 😉

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Chardonnay (6/20), medium tears and fine legs.
• Nose: White wine, slightly vinegary with shades of white balsamic, french oak wood, pencil shavings, buttery vanilla.
• Taste: Rich, medium-full bodied, malty and buttery biscuits, peach and apricot, spicy cinnamon and orange oil, a little bitter and astringent in places.
• Finish: Medium, Light sweet and fruity.

Overall

Very pleasant, much more woody and oaky presence here though oddly slightly vinegary on the nose I did wonder if this was a pale/Amontillado sherry cask finish at one point.

Score 82/100

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