Lockdown means opening & sampling my accumulated miniature collection.
A Speyside trio surfaced.
How would the old established Glenlivet fare against the newly rebranded & refurbished GlenAllachie?
Now Speyside is single malt central.
The largest concentration of distilleries, the biggest sales & market leading brands – but I’m not a fan.
If smooth honeyed sweet, subtle & soft sherry influenced malt is your thing – heaven.
My tendency is for bold & exciting whiskey – but the GlenAllachie design caught my eye and I’d not encountered it before.
So with that caveat in mind – what did I find?
The archetypical Glenlivet 12 delivered it’s subtle sweet Speyside Malt signature statement.
Nothing here for me.
GlenAllachie 12 was an immediate improvement. Cleaner, fresher & more pronounced flavours. Perhaps the 46% ABV, non chill-filtered & natural colour presentation helps. A nice little bite at the end & longer lasting bourbony notes too.
This raised my hopes for the GlenAllachie 10 Cask Strength.
Oh dear!
The nose was inviting – but not overpowering.
The palate was just – well – empty!
I struggled to get anything here before the 54.8% ABV kicked in giving an alcoholic rush to the proceedings.
Even though I was disappointed with the Cask Strength – sampling this trio solidified 3 truisms of mine.
1 – Speyside doesn’t suit my palate.
2 – Anything without e150 & chill filtering is automatically more agreeable.
3 – If Cask Strength is your only character – something else is missing.
Stay safe & enjoy whatever your having.
Sláinte
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 