Origin: Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Strength: 48%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-sherry, ex-Bourbon and new
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: The GlenAllachie Distillers Co. Limited
Average price: € 140,00
Official website: whiteheatherwhisky.com
Vote: 87/100
Since in the wonderful interview with Billy Walker a few days ago we also talked about one of his latest projects outside of GlenAllachie, it seemed to me just appropriate to open a bottle!
White Heather is a blended scotch (i.e. composed of both grain and single malt) created in the 1950s for Campbell & Son, then owners of the Aberlour distillery, shortly to be joined by another well-known blended, Clan Campbell. The two brands coexisted with good success until the 1980s, when the new ownership Pernod Ricard decided to keep only one of them, opting for Clan Campbell, which already had an excellent reputation in France.
In 2021 Billy decided to revive this brand (and if you listen to the interview you will understand why #ad), obtained precisely from Pernod with the purchase of GlenAllachie, but placing the blended at the high end of the market with high age indications as well as the high content of single malts (three).
53% very aged single grain, 23% single malt from Speyside (GlenAllachie of course), 20% single malt from the Highlands and 4% from Islay, aged separately in ex bourbon and ex sherry casks and then joined in puncheon ex oloroso and PX sherry and new American casks for the final three year finishing.
The twenty-one year old was the first bottling, in 2,000 bottles, followed in 2022 by the fifteen year old.
Tasting Notes
On the nose, it expresses a pungent silkiness, which may seem like an oxymoron but I think sums up what the glass conveys to me: on one hand, the softness of wax, acacia honey, caramel, baked apple and blackberry jam, on the other hand, the pungency of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger), red fruits (raspberry, blueberry), a slight citric note and herbaceous inflections. Along the length, it is the sherried notes that prevail, with the decadence of the PX that is however balanced by the herbaceous side with mentholated impressions. Balanced and full-bodied.
In the mouth it has a good oiliness, the spice tone rises (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pepper) with the sherry component always in the foreground, where red fruits, baked plum, sultanas and bitter orange marmalade know how to integrate with the softer parts (but less accentuated than on the nose) of honey, apple, marzipan and butterscotch. The herbaceous part returns, subtly subterranean with balsamic and menthol velleities, and in the distance a hint of smoke.
Quite long finish with tannic touches, spices, bitter orange, red fruits, nuts, wood.
The work on the casks, needless to say, is masterly, the concert of influences is balanced and knows how to enhance the individual components, including the grains, leading to a mature and full blended, without smearing. The only flaw is the price, which for a blended you may find hard to be palatable, but the workmanship to produce it amply justifies it.