Glenallachie 9yo Amontillado
Wood Collection - Sherry Series Amontillado Finish | 48% ABV
Score: 5/10
Average.
TL;DR
Sweet, but a building spice distracts
A Burgeoning Love Affair Hits a Speed Bump
Ah Amontillado, we were just getting to know each other.
Seeing how I recently enjoyed two Amontillado finished Auld Goonsey malts from Mannochmore (an IYKYK dark horse especially from indies) and Blair Athol. While the Blair Athol was stunning and earned a spot on the all-star shelf, the Mannochmore was more wood heavy but still enjoyable with water. A friend purchased that bottle from me as he connected with it right away. Ever since trying these whiskies and learning more about the sherry itself, I’ve been on the lookout for Amontillado influenced malts.
Notice I didn’t get suckered into the maturation vs finishing term there! Also, in hanging out with the fellow Colonials, Mr. Calder Dune swears by the yumminess that is an old Laphroaig Cairdeas Amontillado from 2014 so I’ve always had that percolating in the background.
As a refresher, Amontillado sherry is what I’m calling a “hybrid” sherry. No, I’m not lumping it in with a cream sherry which is a blend of various sherries together. I don’t know if hybrid is the right title for it but I think it is quite an appropriate term for a sherry that combines two different maturation conditions. First, Amontillado starts out like the very bright, bready, and citrusy Fino and Manzanilla sherries that are matured under a flor. The flor acts to keep the air from interacting and oxidising the underlying sherry. Now this is where some man-made intervention kills off the flor with the addition of neutral grape spirit. The sherry now starts to age with the influence of oxygen, slowly turning into an Oloroso sherry, which is associated with rancio and raisins notes. And with some careful attention by the vintner / sherry master / person in charge, or whatever they’re called, the resulting Amontillado sherry will be a hybrid or ‘blend’ of the two styles.
The resulting cask will bring both of these profiles to the whiskies, providing something more interesting than the standard oxidative notes from the common oloroso sherry. Amontillado is therefore a similar cousin to the uber-rare Palo Cortado sherry, which is a naturally occurring version of Amontillado, where the flor inexplicably and naturally disappears, leaving the underlying sherry to oxidize. I obviously painted with a broad brush but you get the concept.
So when GlenAllachie came out with their “Wood Collection - Sherry Series” that showcased various different 9yo whiskies finished in different sherries (a Fino, Amontillado, and Oloroso), and with a voucher in hand to save some monopoly money (Canadian cash is quite colourful), I jumped on this Amontillado.
Review
Glenallachie 9yo Amontillado, Wood Collection - Sherry Series, Lot 12 02 24, 48% ABV
CAD$90 paid (~£50)
Score: 5/10
Average.
TL;DR
Sweet, but a building spice distracts
Nose
Densely sweet dessert whisky. Very cohesive and integrated with a golden brightness. This is a happy smelling whisky, not deep and brooding like an Oloroso or PX sherry.
Sweet syrup, perhaps a smidge of maple in there. Butterscotch candies. Lightly roasted hazelnuts. Undertones of cooked peaches and cinnamon. Fresh baked butter tarts. Simple, effective, and quite enjoyable and heart-warming.
Palate
Thinner than I was expecting based on the alluring viscosity on the glass sides and impressions from the nose.
Creamy sweets. Werther’s candies. Freshly sawn oak. Cinnamon and pepper tingles throughout. Some vanilla and cooked peaches in syrup. Trace brown sugar. This is a muddled affair, tightly mingled together before more oak pips in at the end before a medium-short finish. It’s still bright like the nose but the pepper bite detracts and it’s a bite that keeps building with successive sips.
The Dregs
My frustration with GlenAllachie continues.
Some releases are quite enjoyable, others are frustrating, and I’ve yet to elucidate which ones are which when only looking at the label and descriptions. I stand by my score of 5/10.
There are flashes of brilliance, ultimately residing mostly on the nose, but it’s a disjointed affair with a limited, oaky, and obfuscating palate. Depending on your preferences and opinions, this could easily be a 6/10 or higher for you but that’s the beauty of whisky isn’t it?
I’ll admit that when I come back to this after a good handful of other drams and my palate is numbed a smidge, the sweetness on the palate far overpowers the peppery bite; however when leading off the night with this GlenAllachie, the bite is very much present and keeps building until you’re a few pours deep and sweetly anaesthetised. I’ll keep hunting Amontillado releases since I think there is potential for magic in the influence it can bring to whisky but I’ll be passing along this GlenAllachie to someone else.
At the end of the day the score is second to the description, story, and experience. All we can do is spin a tale and aim at providing an impartial (we are independent and self-funded after all!) and semi-accurate description of a whisky.
The rest is up to you…
Score: 5/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB
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