Review 286. My own preconceptions put to the test by a bourbon cask matured Glenallachie!

Only last week I stated how bourbon cask matured stuff tends to be my lane these days. So much so I tend to approach whisky matured in sherry casks (particularly oloroso casks, and even more specifically 1st fill olorosos casks) with some caution even. I know this is a bit of an unpopular opinion as a lot of whisky enthusiasts actively seek them out for all the richness and flavour they often bring to a whisky, but to me I’ve come to find that oloroso casks tend to ‘overdo it’ for my palate preference. That doesn’t mean I don’t like sherry cask matured whiskies, but overall I prefer it when some of the spirit character still shines through when I’m nosing and sipping a whisky. So this tends to be sort of my guideline when I’m looking to buy a new bottle.  Also, over the years I’ve come to learn that some distilleries produce a rather robust spirit, and others a far more delicate spirit. Two examples would be Benromach (robust) and Glencadam (delicate) – meaning the distillate character of the former can easily stand its ground when it’s been matured in active sherry casks (case in point: their rather excellent cask strength expressions), while the latter shines best when it’s been left to mature in less active bourbon casks (case in point: their rather divine 10 year old). Of course this is by no means a law of nature and things are absolutely not black or white, as there’s an awful lot of ‘grey area’ where distilleries can produce absolutely excellent whiskies regardless of their maturation vessels (eg. Ardnamurchan, Springbank, Ben Nevis, most Islay distilleries, Mortlach…) while others seem almost predisposed to be at their best with either one or the other (and I admit to happily cutting a corner or two here by putting  all and every type of wine cask in the same category as sherry casks) .

In some cases however, we don’t get to choose, as the choice is usually made for us by the owners or producers. Andrew Symington from Edradour/Signatory Vintage has a clear and outspoken preference for sherry cask matured whisky. So much so, seeing a fully bourbon cask matured Signatory or Edrington bottling tends to be the exception to the rule. And, just to be clear about this, that’s absolutely fine, as often the end results speak for themselves.

The same applies to distilleries like Glenfarclas, Glendronach and Tamdhu, who tend to mature most, if not all, of their whiskies in ex-sherry (or other wine) casks. And of course there’s also Glenallachie. A distillery which until a decade ago a lot of us were quite oblivious to, simply because it was a workhorse distillery under Pernod Ricard ownership. Of course all of this changed when a group led by Billy Walker took over the distillery in 2017 and quickly transformed this anonimous boozeplant into a well known and revered brand. As a manager and blender, Billy Walker is second to none, so when he connects his name to something, people tend to pay attention. In record time he put Glenallachie on the radar of many, and he did it mostly by successfully recasking a lot of what was essentially ‘a malt base’ for Pernod Ricard’s blends: decent, consistent but perhaps also somewhat ‘ordinary’ malt whisky got a dramatic makeover by marrying/blending these malts, using a lot of  active (mostly sherry, but also other wine) and/or virgin oaks casks. And again I'm well aware that I'm making it seem as that's an easy 'trick', something simple to pull off. Which of course it isn't. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Quickly an entire core range emerged, with a cask strength 10, a 12 and a 15 year old as flagships, followed by a plethora of limited, often cask strength releases. According to whiskybase, today no less than 811 official releases have been released (the vast majority under ownership of Billy Walker) alongside another 800 or so indie releases. Not bad for a distillery most of us overlooked not even ten years ago.

Billy Walker is undoubtedly a whisky wizard. A prolific, highly skilled blender and a brilliant distillery manager. As a whisky enthusiast I have nothing but respect and I stand in awe of the things he knows and can do, as he is one of the most knowledgeable and skilled people in whisky. Someone who will very likely forget more about whisky than I will ever be able to learn.

BUT! Because of my own silly preconceptions, a lot of what he does often tends to pass me by. I absolutely loved that 10 year old cask strength (particularly the first few batches), and the peated Meikle Tòir range also really appealed to me, but most of the other stuff – the 12 and the 15 year old and all those limited releases  are generally not on my radar and are, by and large, terra incognita for me.

Cadenhead’s 9 yo Glenallachie (2014-2024). Bourbon cask matured.57.5% ABV, 156 bottles, app. €100

With all that in mind, it’s easy to see why I got a bit excited when I was presented with a sample of a 9 year old bourbon cask matured Glenallachie.  Presented in a way which I expect to ‘deliver’ Glenallachie in its ‘purest’ form, if that makes sense? A fully bourbon cask matured Glenallachie is something I haven’t been able to try until now. Which of course doesn’t mean this is a unicorn per se, as there may well be quite a bit of it about, and I am simply unaware of its existence due to me not exactly keeping a close eye on what happens at the distillery. Bottled by none other than Cadenhead’s – not exactly a bunch of newbie amateurs either when it comes to whisky. I’m afraid I can’t remember who it was that gifted me the sample, but chances are it was one of my fellow Belgian Barflies – apologies for not paying better attention but after our meetups (which usually implies quite a few samples exchanging hands and a fair bit of whisky tasting) things sometimes can become a bit of a blur afterwards.

Nose

Crisp, fruity (citrus and orchard notes).  A hint of almonds and a creamy-lactic note. Quite a bit of tart too and a whiff of vanilla. That lemony - citrus - orchard - fruity - tart like sourness is the dominant element here and all the other notes sort of circle around it.

With a drop of water that citric note gets dampened a bit while the lactic and vanilla notes rise to the front.

Palate

Mild arrival – it tickles and coats the tongue even. Full, dense texture but also everything’s a bit muffled and so compact it tastes like 1 concentrated ‘thing’ where fruit, vanilla and a bit of honey are all pressed together . Therefore water to the rescue? Indeed, it helps to open things up, making things easier to assess and differentiate. Again some (mild)  citrus, orchard and white fruit, but above all I’m picking up a lot of cereal notes with barley sugar being the main one.

Finish

Long, a bit sharp and nippy and coating.

Final thoughts

I’m not going to beat about the bush: this is a bit enigmatic. Bordering on becoming almost anemic even. It’s closed at first and while the water helps to open things up, it’s still playing hide & seek in terms of flavours showing and presenting themselves.

This was, of course, distilled pre Walker era, and I can only guess whether Cadenhead’s bought this at the start of its journey, ergo the cask coming from Pernod Ricard, to mature it in their own warehouses (or bought the new make and put in their own bourbon barrel and then left it to mature into a Cadenhead's warehouse) or at the end of its journey, meaning they bought it either directly or through a broker from Billy Walker. The fact of the matter remains that it’s not particularly exciting whisky in my honest opinion. I can of course draw absolutely no conclusions based on a 3 cl sample, but if this is in any way representative of what bourbon barrel matured Glenallachie tastes like, I can fully understand how Billy Walker deems it necessary to sprinkle some of his magic all over it. Completely decent, but also rather unremarkable. I am glad about the fact that  I was able to try a bourbon barrel matured Glenallachie and am always grateful for the generosity of this community, but the actual whisky didn’t really win me over. So this really requires a second opinion, meaning I will be on the lookout for another bourbon barrel matured Glenallachie (preferably one from the current Billy Walker era, at that). Which of course means I will also need to be on the lookout for a sherry/port/wine cask matured Glenallachie as well, if only for comparison reasons. (Or I could just be lazy and settle with what Jeff had to say in his recent video…). In any case: Damn me and my own stupid preconceptions!?