The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength – New Whisky Alert
The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength has landed. Want to learn more? Of course you do. It’s 35yo cask strength GlenAllachie.
This Speyside single malt is a GlenAllachie master distiller Billy Walker creation. The main man boasts more than half a century of expertise in cask selection and blending.
He’s been putting that considerable nous to good use to marry four cask types: new Mizunara oak, new American oak, oloroso sherry, and Pedro Ximénez sherry.
Three and a half decades in the making: The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength
The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength is here!
Mizunara is the famously elusive and problematic Japanese oak, sourced from 200-year-old trees and renowned for imparting singular flavours of sandalwood and incense. It’s notoriously challenging to work with due to its porous nature and tendency to leak. The fact that it’s sought-after demonstrates the strength of the character it imparts on whisky.
Here, Walker tempers all that personality with the richness of oloroso, the opulence of Pedro Ximénez, and the warmth of new American oak. He explains:
“This 35-year-old embodies everything I have learnt over the last five decades – masterful cask selection and management, patience, and sensory instinct. By uniting these four extraordinary cask types, particularly the Mizunara which requires a superlative level of skill to work with, we’re extremely proud to have created a whisky that is as complex as it is harmonious. It is truly a marvel of time and a project that has challenged us in the very best way.”
Master distiller Billy Walker, in his element
The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength Tasting Notes:
The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength comes at a punchy cask strength of 50.2% ABV. The lack of adulteration extends to non-chill-filtration and no added colouring. The bottle’s lack of label showcases the intensely rich mahogany colour of the liquid.
It’s housed in a striking Valchromat box that Scottish designer, Kayley Barbour, developed in-house. She was inspired by Kumiko, the traditional Japanese woodworking art of assembling intricate patterns without nails. Each side of the box has four unique motifs, representing the quartet of casks.
The inner box pays homage to The GlenAllachie namesake, meaning “valley of the rocks” in Scots Gaelic. Stone and slate textures evoke the rugged Scottish landscape. An enclosed booklet offers insight into the whisky, its inspiration, cask types, and tasting notes, while a foil-stamped signature from Billy Walker serves as a distinguished seal of approval.
The price is £1,512.95. Time to break open the piggy bank.
Better get yours before it goes. If you’ve got the dough…
The GlenAllachie 35 Year Old Cask Strength Tasting Notes:
Nose: Mocha, crystallised cinnamon and treacle tart. Followed by cocoa, toasted hazelnuts and pineapple, with soft notes of ginger and heather honey.
Palate: Cocoa, baking spices and chocolate-coated raisins, followed by coconut, brandied orchard fruits and sandalwood.
Finish: Vanilla, dried red fruits and honeycomb.
