The Basics:

Character: Fruity, nutty and rich.

Score: 80/100

The details:

Designed by noted mid-20th century distillery architect William Delme-Evans, Glenallachie was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the distilling arm of Scottish & Newcastle Brewing, in 1967. After a brief stint under the ownership of Invergordon Distillers, it was purchased by Campbell Distillers in 1989 and followed that firm into Pernod Ricard’s ownership. 

Glenallachie, like most distilleries built before the most recent distilling boom, was built to provide fillings for blends, not to be a star malt whisky. Under Pernod’s watch, the distillery was often mothballed and distillery bottlings were quite scarce, although one was issued just before the distillery was purchased in 2017 by a private consortium led by Billy Walker, fresh off his triumphs with BenRiach. 

As with BenRiach, GlenDronach, and Glenglassaugh, distilling has resumed, including a limited amount of peated malt, and bottlings have proliferated, vastly raising the profile of this obscure distillery. Also, as he did with those other distilleries, Walker has done much to raise the reputation of the whisky, which was middling, at best, prior to his tenure: there’s been a lot of imaginative re-racking, and a new-found focus on using sherry casks. 

Glenallachie has recently rebranded, and this 15 year old expression comes from the pre-rebrand line released just after Walker took over. It has a peculiar clunky font that looks like there is some sort of unspoken tie-in to something relating to cavemen. The newer line is altogether sleeker and more visually appealing. The whisky is fruity and appealing, with lots of fruit, especially orange, and goes over well when one is in the mood for a sherried dram that isn’t quite as heavy and intense as some of its Speyside brethren, such as Benrinnes. It’s definitely a mood whisky–if you’re itching for a nice sherried Speysider, I’d reach for it ahead of more famous peers like Aberlour (most of it, anyway) or, frankly, current Macallan. If you’re feeling less inclined toward sherry, it’s not going to force you into the mood. Obviously, when I rated this, I wasn’t in the most sherry-forward mood.

Glenallachie 15, 46% abv

Tasting notes:

Nose: Candied orange. Overripe yellow grape. Very fruity, citric, juicy and ripe. A little plummy with very light damp pipe tobacco. Plump and round.

Body: Medium, slightly oily and chewy.

Palate: Juicy, plump, rounded and sweet. Clementines and candied orange peel. Integrated spice–turmeric, perhaps? Traces of leather and varnish, becoming more astringent.

Finish: Very orangey, still, with slight hints of leather and tobacco. Gradually drying, with light astringency. Longish.

Score: 80/100

Who should buy it?: If you know you like sherried whiskies and you’re in the mood for one, you won’t go wrong with this.

Overall thoughts: Good stuff, if you’re in the right mood. If you’re leaning more toward the relatively subtle touch of bourbon maturation, this can come across as a bit cloying.

If you enjoyed this review and would like to make a small donation to support this site, please click here.