Whisky: Allt-a-Bhainne 7 Year SMWS 108.20 “Out ’n’ about”

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 63%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 7 Year (Distilled 3 Nov. 2011)

Nose: Brine, vegetation, and old tires. Tamarind pods crushed on the sidewalk and baked in the sun— a sticky earthy vegetative sweetness that veered toward sweet swampy decay with hints of citrus. A sinus-clearing brine with old weathered playground tires and acrid green wood smoke. Sunflower seeds and salt with hints of cinnamon and licorice. The wife insisted on braised carrots as a note for that vegetable sweetness.

Palate: Medium-bodied and sharp with citrus, caramel, and metallic notes. Swampy decay and heather sat in the background of bright, clean lemon and crushed green apples. The notion of caramel apples developed between hand pies and rusted iron to leave the impression of eating freshly baked, or even better, fried, pastries on the wharf. Hints of tamarind, black pepper, and licorice appeared near the end.

Finish: Lingering citrus and pepper with an iron-metallic note.

Score: 5

Mental Image: Caramel Apples on Wrought Iron Fences

Notes: A bright and feisty Allt-a-Bhaine, though not quite as funky as some of the ones I loved. I think you could be excused for mistakenly believing this was a brash young Springbank with some of the metallic— almost copper top battery— notes that appeared on the nose and palate. It was a tad acidic and aggressive for my taste; water helped take the edge off but left the dram a bit one-dimensional, dominated by orchard fruit and citrus. Water brought out more of a bait-shop fishy funk on the nose, so there were at least a few advantages to adjusting the abv. down a hair.

We initially included this bottle as part of a giant “newbie” split for our local whisky club so new members could sample as many different distilleries as possible. I do not think any walked away as huge fans of Allt-a-Bhainne after trying this one (though the distillery is a low-key favorite for a few club members).

I doubt any of them had ever tried the distillery before. Allt-a-Bhainne only started production in 1975 and expanded in the 1980s. Just as the distillery got going, the rest of the industry began a significant contraction. Mothballed in 2002, Allt-a-Bhainne reopened in 2005 and, according to the 2022 Malt Whisky Yearbook, released its first official bottling in 2018. Suffice to say that it is not a common malt to find lying around in your average shop.

Overall, young, aggressive, assertive, but not terribly deep— a score of five might be a tad low. If I gave fractional scores, I might have given this a five and five-eighths or something to that effect, as I enjoyed it a bit more during subsequent tastings.