On 22 March, GlenAllachie announced three new bottlings in its Virgin Oak series, limited editions with an emphasis on the geographical origin of the wood used for ageing.
Two of the new bottlings, both 10 years old, were finished in virgin French and Chinquapin (a variety of American oak) casks respectively, while the third, 15 years old, features innovative finishing in virgin Scottish casks (Quercus Petrae).
All three were initially matured in ex-Bourbon casks, while the finishing lasted at least 18 months in these three different types of wood, with the casks air-dried at different times (15 months for the French ones, 36 months for the Scottish and almost four years for the American), the last two being medium toasted and charred before being filled.
This series demonstrates once again Billy Walker’s meticulous and passionate research into the influence of wood in the ageing of whisky:
“Exploring the interaction of virgin oak with our whisky has become a real passion of mine over the last few years, and I feel it’s something that we are really specialising in. I don’t think it’s a secret that I am devoted to wood management and sourcing unusual casks, but I believe virgin oak is underexposed in the Scotch whisky industry; something we are eager to change.”