Virgin oak is bound to seize my consideration.
It is popularly utilized in Tomatin Legacy, Balblair 12, and The Balvenie Candy Toast of American Oak Tales Sequence, amongst many different releases. Regardless of my basic dislike of overly oaky whisky, virgin oak, for me, appears to permit fruiter flavours from the malt develop and seems to melt youthful spirit. Others communicate of stronger vanilla flavours and of heightened sweetness. One other apparent benefit to distillers is a depth of color that belies the age on youthful whiskies.
Opinions are cut up about using virgin oak. In 2015 Serge Vallentin of WhiskyFun described using virgin oak as “an abomination,” whereas Dr Invoice Lumsden of Glenmorangie defended the observe of ending with virgin oak offered there’s a cautious software, “or else a one dimensional whisky may result.”
American Chinquapin oak
Glenallachie – or, extra particularly, Billy Walker – has earned a reputation with the skilful software of cask finishes to whisky. Initially by means of the work at Glendronach, Benriach, and (to an extent) Glenglassaugh. In 2017, after promoting the previous three distilleries to Brown Forman, Walker obtained the previous Chivas workhorse Glenallachie Distillery. Billy and his workforce have turned a a lot maligned and unloved distillery with a poor popularity into probably the greatest sellers. In reality, Aberdeen Whisky Store suppose it’s in all probability their bestselling single malt.
The place Billy Walker had honed his use of high quality casks with Glendronach and Benriach, comparable casks can be working exhausting on outdated Glenallachie inventory acquired with the distillery buy. Billy Walker’s fashion is flavour ahead and sherry focussed, however there are additionally ventures into most different permitted cask varieties.
The core vary is a mix of cask varieties delivering easy, approachable whisky favour-focused on the bulk. In these releases, using virgin oak is attention-grabbing. Virgin oak casks are usually used to hurry up younger spirit, comparable to with the Benromach Natural and Glen Garioch Virgin Oak, each whiskies launched as non-age assertion with the spirit roughly six to eight years outdated. With these Genallachie whiskies, the finishes are pepping up spirit that might in any other case be considered prepared for ingesting at different distilleries.
French oak forest
The brand new spirit character favoured by Billy Walker is simply simply filtering by means of in extraordinarily restricted numbers with the discharge of 10,000 bottles of the 50th Anniversary Futures 4 yr outdated peated malt. Given the brief 5 years which have handed because the acquisition of the distillery there’s some hope for enhancements; I’ve but to strive the brand new spirit. The manufacturing has been scaled again to simply 500,000 litres of alcohol per yr (LOA), though there’s a theoretical capability of as much as 4 million LOA at Glenallachie. This variation has allowed the distillers to stretch to an extra-long distillation of 160 hours.
While the new-style spirit quietly slumbers, the experimentation continues. In 2020, the primary three virgin oak cask finishes had been launched. This included Chinquapin oak (a sub-species of American white oak) and French Virgin Oak from the Haute-Garonne area within the Pyrenes. The third was Spanish Virgin Oak from timber grown within the Cantabrian Mountains in Northern Spain. The oak was air dried for 18 months previous to coopering. Every of those releases comprised of 6,500 bottles; the whisky was bottled at 48%. These releases value round £60, and got here non-chill filtered and at pure color.
Spanish Oak
In 2022 three additional virgin oak completed whiskies got here within the collection. The discharge included Scottish Virgin Oak end the aged 15 years for a very spicy £175. The Scottish oak is Sessile Oak sourced from the West Coast of Scotland which was air dried for 36 months. The value is pushed by the rareness of the oak and the difficulties in acquiring workable staves as a result of tendency to knot. Simply 2250 bottles of the expression had been launched.
There was additionally a ten yr outdated launch of French Virgin oak from the identical area because the 2020 bottles and one other 10 yr outdated launch from Chinquapin oak from the Northern Ozark area of Missouri within the USA. All these bottlings had been at 48% with pure color and non-chill filtered. The 2 10 yr outdated releases retailed at £61.99.
All the virgin oak casks concerned in these launched had been charred and toasted to a medium toast as a part of the coopering course of and the virgin oak finishes had been round 18 months. The whisky was in refill American oak casks previous to ending.
Windfallen Scottish oak
The Scottish Oak Programme was championed by Grasp Whisky Maker Gregg Glass at Whyte & Mackay as a substitute for ex-bourbon barrels from the USA, while additionally supporting the small sawmills and woodlands round Scotland with the concentrate on sustainable wind-felled oaks. Initially, Whyte & Mackay launched the King of Bushes 10 yr outdated blended Highland Malt utilizing wooden from two 200 yr outdated wind-felled Scottish oak timber, from which just one single cask may very well be manufactured. Whyte & Mackay prolonged the programme throughout all of their distilleries. It’s my understanding that different impartial distilleries exterior of Whyte & Mackay, comparable to tiny Badachro and Glenallachie, have been invited to take part within the collaborative programme.
Glenallachie Virgin Oak French Oak 12 Yr Outdated – Overview
48% ABV. £60.
Color: Amber.
On the nostril: Shiny and fruity with orchard fruits, ripe nectarine, and dusty vanilla, cloudy apple juice, Danish pastry, and assured baking spices. With time, polished oak furnishings develops and the entire nostril turns into fairly dry.
Within the mouth: Mild, malty arrival, white fruit, virtually floral, earlier than extra oily baking spices; fragrant spices proceed onto the end which lingers pleasantly on the tongue.
Conclusions:
The woodiness of the French oak is clear as a nice spiciness. I’m unsure that the bottom spirit is that tasty although, maybe that’s an inherent flaw with this collection.
Rating: 5/10
Glenallachie Virgin Oak Spanish Oak 12 Yr Outdated – Overview
48% ABV. £60.
Color: Amber
On the nostril: Vanilla, smooth fudge, extra baking spices initially, muted fruit, dried apricots, uncooked puff pastry, freshly baked hobnob biscuits, floor ginger, peach flesh, icing sugar, honeycomb.
Within the mouth: Initially mild and flat this strikes by means of vanilla and toffee to develop into fairly peppery, natural with tarragon and torn backyard mint, the peppery spirit lingers with dry oak on the end.
Conclusions:
Clean, moderately advanced, honest ABS, nonetheless fairly prickly regardless of 12 years in wooden.
Rating: 5/10
Glenallachie Virgin Oak Chinquapin Oak 12 Yr Outdated – Overview
48% ABV. £60.
Color: Amber
On the nostril: Toasted oak, baking spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, dusty confectioners’ sugar, toffee, a faint fruitiness, malted barley, a barely floral nutty word, candied lemon peel, fondant icing, all muted and smooth.
Within the mouth: Mild smooth fruit, reduce inexperienced apple, white grape, very smooth spices and fudge, apricot turnover, a bit floor ginger. The end is brief however with a bit flash of funky fruit.
Conclusions:
The flavour is OK; general it’s drinkable. That is the softest of the three to date. The additional ABV is carrying fairly a little bit of flavour; this might die at 40%.
Rating: 5/10
Glenallachie Virgin Oak French Oak 10 Yr Outdated – Overview
48% ABV. £62.
Color: Amber
On the nostril: That is a lot spicier than the French 12 yr outdated with pepperiness from the spirit and a extra American bourbon flavour profile with peppermint tea, polished oak, vanilla, and baking spices distinguished. Fragrant toasted oak, Brasso, angelica root, fennel seed.
Within the mouth: Clean heat vanilla fudge, assertive baking spices, buttery icing, clove, aniseed, toffee apple. Barely peppery end once more, with polished oak and pencil shavings giving fairly a bitter word.
Conclusions:
Maybe one of the vital advanced, the strain between the spirit and the cask end was attention-grabbing and it got here throughout as livelier that the 12 Yr Outdated. Nevertheless, it wanted another dimension to raise the rating.
Rating: 5/10
Glenallachie Virgin Oak Chinquapin Oak 10 Yr Outdated – Overview
48% ABV. £62.
Color: Amber.
On the nostril: Tender, candy toasted oak, light baking spices, buttery pastry, iced cinnamon rolls, balanced with apricot jam, ripe pear, all in concord with a cream cheese frosted carrot cake.
Within the mouth: Caramel milkshake, vanilla, buttered toast sprinkled with brown sugar, baking spices, white wine fruitiness. Dry tarte and barely natural, extra oak spices on the end which is medium size and pretty easy.
Conclusions:
Effective in the best way that Edinburgh folks use the phrase (that means OK) reasonably than Aberdeenshire folks (that means improbable). It’s positive. I feel this dram is extra attention-grabbing in a vertical comparability and most probably forgettable by itself.
Rating: 5/10
Glenallachie Virgin Oak Scottish Oak 15 Yr Outdated – Overview
48% ABV. £175.
Color: Amber.
On the nostril: Initially a burst of fruit: apple juice, pear, white peach, adopted by toasted sugar, donut, oak shavings and baking spices, wild raspberry and an earthy sweetness, vanilla butter cream. Scottish pancakes drizzled in golden syrup.
Within the mouth: Clean arrival, smooth caramel, butter toffee, baking spices, and a few floor ginger, white pepper, creamy butter frosting topped with lots of and hundreds. The end provides a bit crushed raspberry and purple apple peel; it’s medium size, with some espresso grounds and a bit fruity funk.
Conclusions:
Good, attention-grabbing whisky however not more-ish. It’s maybe one of the best right here, however not deserving of a better rating. No reductions in value; Scottish wooden is inherently costly, however certainly not fairly as a lot as the worth suggests.
Rating: 5/10
General Conclusions:
I’ve beforehand reviewed a wine cask Glenallachie which I loved. With these virgin casks there was some variation, however all inside a slender band. With the heavy cask finishes, the cask is doing at the least 80% of the work on the outdated fashion Glenallachie spirit. The core vary are vattings of a number of totally different cask varieties to attempt to reinforce the flavour profile. The vary is launched at 48% which is a stability of maximising flavour and in addition revenue, while recognising that not everybody enjoys cask power.
With these virgin oak releases the weak point within the core spirit is uncovered; there’s not a lot to enhance in it, regardless of the ability that these virgin casks often ship. I do know there’s a enormous fanbase for Glenallachie, however – as all the time – I’m ready to exit on a limb. In years to return the releases between 2017 and, say, 2027 – when the brand new spirit makes it to 10 years outdated – can be considered poor years for Glenallachie. They won’t be wanted. Would-be collectors ought to bear that in thoughts. I’d count on Glenallachie to re-brand every of their core vary as the brand new spirit comes by means of to obviously distinguish it from the outdated shares.
I don’t even actually criticise the distillery workforce for doing this; to borrow a crude phrase: “You possibly can solely piss with the cock you’ve received.” They’ve carried out nicely with little or no, however I’m unsure the followers who’ve flocked to the distillery are true whisky connoisseurs. Maybe have been swept up within the hype?
If I’m ever martyred within the identify of whisky, let it not be these virgins who await me in heaven.
