The GlenAllachie Distillery is launching its second batch of limited-edition wood finishes and marking the occasion with a virtual tasting, hosted by master distiller Billy Walker.
The new trio of Speyside single malt Scotch whiskies from The GlenAllachie Distillery features a 9 year-old Rye Wood Finish, an 11 year-old Moscatel Wood Finish, and an 11 year-old Port Wood Finish.
All are bottled at 48%, unchilfiltered and with no added colouring, and are available worldwide, including the UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Whisky fans around the world can join the virtual tasting on The GlenAllachie’s Facebook page at 7pm (BST) on Thursday 7th May to watch Billy Walker introduce the new wood finishes and carry out a tasting of each one.
The tasting is interactive, with fans encouraged to have drams ready to taste and share their thoughts and questions in the comments section. The event is the latest in a series of ‘Isolation Tastin’ sessions The GlenAllachie has staged on Facebook.
The wood finishes are created by master distiller Billy Walker, who was awarded Master Distiller/Master Blender of the Year 2020 at the Icons of Whisky Awards.
Walker, who bought the distillery near Aberlour in 2017 with Trisha Savage and Graham Stevenson, hand-picked the malts from among the 50,000 casks currently stored in the distillery’s 16 warehouses.
The GlenAllachie’s first batch of signature wood finishes, which featured an 8 year-old Koval Rye Quarter Cask Wood Finish, a 10 year old Port Wood Finish, and a 12 year old Pedro Ximenez Sherry Wood Finish, was released in August 2019.
The 9-year-old Rye Wood Finish (RRP £54.99) offers a rich and spicy twist on The GlenAllachie’s classic flavours of butterscotch, heather honey, raisins and dark chocolate.
This single malt was first matured in premium American Oak wood barrels before being re-racked into Kentucky Rye casks. The result is a golden malt with bold and punchy notes.
The 11 year-old Moscatel Wood Finish (RRP £58.99) creates a fruiter style of whisky with a vivid and aromatic nose, typical of the muscat grape.
This malt was first aged in the finest American Oak wood barrels for over nine years before being re-racked into Moscatel Barriques for a second maturation period to enrich the flavour profile.
The 11yo Port Wood Finish (RRP £58.99) is a distinctively ruby red malt resulting from a balanced marriage of cask and distillery character.
The whisky was matured for over nine years in American Oak barrels before being re-racked into Ruby Port wood pipes. The secondary maturation develops the flavour, depth and complexity and adds a vibrant, rich colour.
Billy Walker said: “From day one, we’ve spent a lot of time exploring the amazing array of casks here in the warehouses and also looking at how our spirit interacts with different types of wood.
"It’s exciting to see how we can change and enhance the flavour profile of our spirit to create rich and full-bodied whiskies.
“This second batch of wood finishes represents the culmination of all those experiments, and we’re excited about the range of new flavours we’ve created by giving our malt second maturations in Rye, Moscatel and Ruby Port barrels.
"It’s a delicate process to make sure the different woods complement the GlenAllachie spirit rather than overpower it, but we’re delighted with the results.”
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