Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 56.8%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry Oloroso, ex-Pedro Ximénez, virgin, ex-Rioja wine
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: The GlenAllachie Distillers Co Limited
Average price: € 75.00
Official website: theglenallachie.com
Vote: 90/100
Among enthusiasts, each release of the GlenAllachie 10yo CS is accompanied by the same questions: what combination of casks will Billy Walker have come up with this time? Will it manage to live up to the enviable standard of previous batches?
The first question can be explained by the GlenAllachie Master Distiller’s long-standing path of research into woods: a path full of original solutions conducted with a passion that can be felt in every dram.
The second, with the very high average quality of the bottlings, not only as regards the core range, but also in the theoretically more experimental proposals (think of the Wood Finish series but also the Wine or Virgin Oak Series).
Into the glass, we pour the seventh edition of GlenAllachie 10yo CS, which comes from a mix, in different proportions of course, of ex-Oloroso Sherry casks, ex-PX, virgin and ex-Rioja Spanish wine.
Bottled at 56.8% ABV in a total of sixty-six thousand bottles, still available in shops.
Tasting notes
A magnificent dark amber glows in the glass.
On the nose, the first impression is of apricots, followed by candied fruit, toffee, hazelnuts and walnut. The spicy side of cloves and nutmeg adds further verve to a sinuous profile that is already strongly seductive. There’s room for a balsamic touch of liquorice root, before pine resin, milk chocolate and a rather distinct hint of cinnamon rolls enter the scene. Over time, the creamy dimension increases in intensity: it’s, more precisely, a vanilla cream fragrance that resembles a veritable additional pampering for the drinker, already struck (and perhaps sunk, sentimentally) by an ensemble that’s hard to resist.
After the peppery opening, the first scents are absolutely consistent with what was perceived on the nose: resin, toffee and nuts. Only here, as in a poker game where you play ‘heavy’, the load of figs, sultanas, dark chocolate and a hint of honey between lime and heather soon arrives. Without any imbalance in sweetness, and with an almost chewy ‘chubby’ softness, enhanced by a gradation to which no objections can be made.
The finish is long, warm and spicy, with nutmeg, resin and a delicious dried apricot.
The first time we tasted it (yes, we couldn’t resist, we bought the bottle), with a gasp of irrepressible enthusiasm, we called it a ‘sex bomb’. Now, verbal banality aside, the idea was just that: a whisky of a generosity bordering on opulence that, like an indefatigable lover, seems designed to soothe the wounds of the disappointed drinker, or to indulge his every desire for (alcoholic) revenge, or simply to give long minutes of pleasure.
We haven’t changed our minds today, and we confirm that this GlenAllachie 10yo CS Batch 7 also falls serenely within the top five drinks of the year.