MrWizard's Ramblings

It’s the fated hour! I’m finally trying the GlenAllachie samples I got…

GlenAllachie 13, Cask #6871, 59.6%
2007 Vintage, UK exclusive, Virgin Oak casks… Let’s gooooo! Nose got chocolate funky burnt rubber notes going but in a perfume way. Palate… Wood-forward for a 13 year old single cask. Very surprising. Lots of chocolate, tons of malt and minerality. The aftertaste is a little more minerality, slight alcohol tingle and fast-fading wood the primary flavors are a bit on the shorter side, but some remnants linger for a while. Water brings a ton more wood bitterness and makes the malt horribly peppery, avoid the water here. It’s tasty but not that special to be honest. Very wood and chocolate forward making an interesting flavor combo, nearly bordering on bourbon type of palate here, but with malt instead. Not really my jam to be honest, there’s nothing particularly bad here and I really want to like it, yet I’m not having warm and fuzzy feelings about it. Rather forcing myself to finish this sample.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181254
Score: B-

GlenAllachie 11, Cask #5000, 58.3%
A Grattamacco Red Wine cask from 2009… Amusingly, almost pink in the glass. The nose is sorta chocolate with lots of alcohol and a light whiff of red wine berries. This is oddly bordering on light port notes. The easiest way I can describe this… It’s Glendronach Portwood but cask strength and a little light on the port sweetness. Red wine berries forward, with some chocolate in the back this makes for a solid combination of flavors. Small downside is the relative youth and really rather high proof making it slightly too alcohol-forward. The aftertaste is spot on with wine cask influence taking center stage and lasting for quite a while. This is certainly red wine and chocolate pairing… Rather interesting flavor combination to find in scotch. Oh and it takes water fantastically, dialing back some of the proof without losing the flavors. Anyways, this is woody wine that’s quite tasty even if it’s one-sided on the primary and cask flavors and lacking secondary subtle notes to some extent.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181255
Score: B+

GlenAllachie 15, Cask#901042, 63.0%
To be honest… This one I’m looking forward to…. Very unmistakably sherry colored and tons of sherry notes on the nose. Very much varnish/mastic smell suggests oloroso, but ooooh does it smell good in combination with the seemingly consistent chocolate notes from the malt. An absolute sherry bomb, this reminds me somewhat of the Chieftain’s Glentauchers 15 I’ve had last year vs Kavalan’s mulled sherry with every spice possible. This is straight and to the point, wood, sherry, malt, fairly dynamic and non sticky consistency. Definitely does not feel like a 63%… Aftertaste is very slightly letdown by not lingering for little longer, but fading fast instead. Still, while it fades it’s well balanced and to some extent toasted wood sort of wins in the end finishing with toasted nuts on the very back. Surprisingly delicate for such intense sherry concentration on the nose and palate. Definite chocolate sherry bomb and arguably the best of the 3 GlenAllachie samples I’ve tried so far. Very much a sherry bomb and dead ringer for that Glentauchers 15 described here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200423-122847… Now for the sad part… value-wise it’s not that great and being a UK-exclusive… best of luck getting it cheap.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181253
Score: A-

Braeval 22 (1994), Munros, 55.6%
Somehow I feel like I’ve reviewed a Braeval before… But I guess I didn’t. Let’s try again. A distillery formerly called Braes of Glenlivet this is part of Chivas portfolio and doesn’t seem to have any Original Bottlings, though Independent Bottles do tend to float up occasionally. For what it’s worth, I like IB’s; so all the better here with an unaltered single cask. Nose is.. Vanilla & Banana yogurt, creme custard with some citrus notes, very lively. The palate is surprisingly restrained after that luscious nose is somewhat reminiscent of a slightly woodier old malt cask on the mouthfeel. So vanilla, bourbon spice that’s bordering on bitterness, tons of malt and some white pepper. Few grass notes appear too, or perhaps it’s the cask wood playing tricks on me. Malty, buttery, bitterness dominates slightly secondary flavors and the aftertaste though it lasts for a very very long time which could be either good, if one is looking for a somewhat medicinal aftertaste or bad depending on the preference here. Many many layers of flavor here that would please ex-bourbon cask folks this takes water like a champ (just like just about every 20+ year old scotch) and that bitterness layer opens up into… lots of other layers, but primarily, it mostly fades away which is awesome. Water is highly recommended. Very approachable by just about anyone and quite flavorful in its own way. Value-wise this was a pretty solid value offering, all gone by now of course.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485016
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/140044
Score: B+ (w/ Water)

Tormore 22 (1995), Munros, 45.4%
Another Munros bottling… Little darker, suggesting a reasonably active cask and having a huge nose while at relatively low proof. Unfortunately, this is a bit rubber-forward on the nose too reminding me somewhat of Clyde Mays Bourbon with a sort of hot roofing rubber smell. The palate is surprisingly creamy with more of that rubber glue notes that personally I cannot get around. The aftertaste is about medium and gently-fading. This drinks surprisingly hotter than the proof stated which is quite odd for a 22 year old whiskey. Overall, it’s reasonably nutty, tasty bottling with the ‘right’ palate, yet with enough of the burnt rubber note that makes me want to skip this. Betcha my wife wouldn’t taste the rubber in this. Anyways, myself… no like! Which marks this as the lowest grade I’ve ever given to a single cask scotch so far.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485015
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/140043
Score: D (B+ if you’re not tasting the rubber note)

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown