GlenAllachie has recently announced the release of three new limited edition single malts to the Virgin Oak Series: 15YO Scottish Virgin Oak Finish, 10YO French Virgin Oak Finish, and 10YO Chinquapin Virgin Oak Finish. The range of single malts is crafted by Billy Walker, Master Blender.
GlenAllachie Virgin Oak Series was first debuted in 2020 and consisted of three Speyside single malts: 12-Year-old French Virgin Oak, 12-Year-Old Spanish Virgin Oak, and 12-Year-Old Chinquapin Virgin Oak.
“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 specializing 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. This expansion of our Virgin Oak Series showcases three superb single malts, each with incredibly unique attributes. I’m particularly proud to release a very rare Scottish Virgin Oak bottling; a long-held ambition of mine, with full appreciation of how challenging and expensive it is to work with. The result, in my humble opinion, is genuinely outstanding.”
By Walker
THE GLENALLACHIE 15YO SCOTTISH VIRGIN OAK
Glenallachie 15YO Scottish Virgin Oak is a rare single malt whisky that underwent additional maturation in casks made of Scottish Sessile Oak (Quercus Petrae), sourced from the Atlantic coast. Scottish oak is incredibly challenging to work with at all stages of production; growing, milling, and coopering. Its rarity, costliness, and tendency to knot mean it is scarcely used for whisky maturation. Before being filled, the wood was air-dried for 36 months, then toasted and charred to a medium level. Only 2,250 bottlings of the single malt whisky are available.
Tasting Notes:
- COLOUR: Golden Sunset.
- NOSE: Bursting with honeycomb, vanilla pods, and citrus fruits, with butterscotch, orange zest, and white chocolate.
- TASTE: Lashings of heather honey, caramelized pine nuts, cinnamon, and toffee, followed by orange peel, lemon zest, banana, and ginger.
THE GLENALLACHIE 10YO FRENCH VIRGIN OAK
Glenallachie 10YO French Virgin Oak is golden bronze malt that was first matured in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels before undergoing additional maturation in hogsheads made of French oak (Quercus Robur), sourced from the Haute-Garonne region, for approximately 18 months. The fine-grained wood was air-dried for 15 months before hosting the GlenAllachie spirit. The secondary maturation period has added silky tannins, sweet spices, and fruit notes to this delectable, earthy single malt.
Tasting Notes:
- COLOUR: Golden Bronze.
- NOSE: Waves of orange peel, heather honey, and soft spice, followed by caramel, orchard fruits, and mocha.
- TASTE: Layers of heather honey, mocha, and brittle toffee, with grapefruit, cinnamon, earthy tannins, and notes of ginger on the finish.
THE GLENALLACHIE 10YO CHINQUAPIN VIRGIN OAK
Glenallachie 10YO Chinquapin Virgin Oak was first matured in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels before undergoing additional maturation in casks made of Chinquapin Oak (Quercus Muehlenbergii), which is sourced from the Northern Ozark region in Missouri for approximately 18 months. The casks were air-dried for almost four years, then toasted to medium level before hosting the spirit.
Tasting Notes:
- COLOUR: Rich Bronze.
- NOSE: Bursting with orange zest, heather honey, and pecan, with notes of butterscotch, nutmeg, and licorice.
- TASTE: Lashings of cinnamon, barley sugar, and toasted biscuits, followed by rose hips, orange peel, and heather honey.
The three single malt expressions have natural colour. The expressions are bottled at 48% ABV and are non-chill filtered.
GlenAllachie 15YO Scottish Virgin Oak is available for purchase at RRP £175 (US$230), GlenAllachie 10YO French Virgin Oak Finish and GlenAllachie 10YO Chinquapin Virgin Oak are available for purchase at RRP £61.99 (US$82). The new GlenAllachie Virgin Oak expressions are available via specialist retailers globally.
About GlenAllachie
GlenAllachie is one of Scotland’s few independently owned and managed distilleries. The distillery was first acquired in October 2017. GlenAllachie is led by industry veteran, Master Blender, Billy Walker. Nestled at the foot of Ben Rinnes, the distillery lies at the heart of the Speyside, with a focus upon quality over quantity. Spanning 16 on-site warehouses holding over 50,000 casks, the distillery’s passionate team has complete control of the end-to-end maturation process, giving them the freedom to make decisions for all the right reasons. The water to the distillery comes from dam heads over 2 miles from the distillery. Henshead and Blackstank flow into Beatshach Burn, which supplies the water directly to the distillery, and sits on the North East of BenRinnes. The single malt whiskies are long fermented for 160 hours, this gives character to the spirit.