Weekend Briefs: Allt-a-Bhainne & Friends
By a cosmic coincidence, as I finished up my Allt-a-Bhainne review series, a blue moon of a malt for me to review, I had the opportunity to taste a few bonus whiskies during a meeting of our local whisky club. Below are a handful of additional Allt-a-Bhainne shared by friends and a couple of other whiskies from early in the evening, when I still felt like keeping my wits about me and jotting down notes. The Allt-a-Bhainne had each been opened since the beginning of the year, and in the case of the Gordon & MacPhail I was told that it had mellowed out quite a bit after initially coming across as more eccentric and odd.
Whisky Details: Allt-a-Bhainne 17 Year (2005), Gordon & McPhail Cask 16600704
Nose: Orchard fruits packed in straw with apples, pears, and dried grass; unfinished wooden crates and cutting boards with butter, apple sauce, and mashed pears; more tropical fruits with time or water.
Palate: Medium-bodied, vegetal and sweet like roasted sweet potato, peppery ginger and apple sauce, black pepper, spirited at times— the alcohol was not always well-integrated; with time more tropical fruits, lychee.
Finish: Medium-length with musty fruits and green tobacco leaf.
Score: 6-7 (80)
Mental Image: Orchard House Kitchen
Narrative & Notes: A pleasant enough Allt-a-Bhainne, slightly funky on occasion, especially those vegetal notes on the palate, but otherwise fairly straightforward. The spirit was not always well-integrated, with plenty of spirited prickle and pepper, but the flavors evolved nicely in the glass, taking on more tropical elements with time or a bit of water. The big orchard fruits left this feeling more anonymous and less distinctive than others, more like a Glentauchers— something safe and enjoyable, if not a touch unbalanced at times. Overall, an enjoyable whisky, I thought a few drops of water went a long way toward unlocking the more intriguing elements.
Whisky Details: Allt-a-Bhainne 10 Year (2012), SMWS 108.64 “The Chef’s Special”
Nose: Hot cross buns, pandasal, and pretzels— it was malty pastries and salt, mustard seed, chimichurri (or maybe just a bunch of peppery-citrusy herbal parsley), black pepper, fruit salsa, wispy smoke.
Palate: Medium-bodied and meaty with roasted nuts, eucalyptus, pepper crusted pastrami, sweet meaty marinades, wood char, slightly bitter burnt peppercorns toward the end; with water some mildly sweet rum raisin.
Finish: Medium-length, drying and herbal, peppercorn, charred wood, medicinal menthol— a touch of Vick’s to open the sinuses.
Score: 6-7 (81)
Mental Image: Pastrami on Pretzel Bun
Narrative & Notes: The flavor profile on this was fascinating, and the SMWS notes ended up matching mine fairly closely (though given with a slightly different progression). The alcohol was well-integrated and the flavors evolved nicely in the glass. The peated elements generally remained in the background, allowing a heavy malty-salty profile to emerge with plenty of cracked black pepper (even if it turned a bit bitter toward the end). Overall, a fascinating malt— I have had a number of younger peated Allt-a-Bhainne, but none this old, and I am excited to see what the spirit is like with a bit more age. Considering how many of these SMWS has released over the years, I assume they have stashed away so we can find out!
Whisky Details: Glen Grant 26 Year (1995), Signatory Vintage Casks 88197 & 88198
Nose: All of the orchard fruit pies— apples, pears, butter, graham crackers, pie crust, brown sugar; more wood lurked further in, dusty antiques, wicker wood, beech wood, a bit like traipsing through Pier One or some yuppie furniture store.
Palate: Medium to light-bodied, orchard fruit pies again with apples, butter, wooden cutting boards; wicker and freshly lathed beechwood; drying with more herbal spice and tea boxes toward the end, hints of yeasty fermentation, drying crushed almonds; slightly waxy with water.
Finish: Medium to long with orchard fruit skins, dry raw almonds, wicker furniture.
Score: 5-6 (76)
Mental Image: Pie Pan Shopping at Pier One
Narrative & Notes: Pleasant and reserved, just like you want from an old easy drinking whisky. There was not a lot of depth to the flavor profile beyond orchard fruits, wood, and pastry crust, but that is a good recipe for a relaxing dram on a quiet evening. I enjoyed the gradual appearance of waxier fruit skins with time, or a bit of water, especially as the whisky was otherwise rather drying. The herbal and fermented elements on the palate stood out a bit, they felt slightly old-fashioned, but also a bit askew from the otherwise very safe set of flavors. Overall, a whisky for relaxing, a quiet companion not suited for particularly thoughtful or focused drinking.
Whisky Details: Glenburgie 20 Year (1998), Single Cask Nation Cask 751405
Nose: Plenty of fruit and refined sugar with a touch of creaminess; melon and lemon peel gummies, lemon poppyseed scones and dry pastries, buttery shortbread, vanilla bean scones.
Palate: Medium-bodied, slightly syrupy, a bag of lemon peel gummies, passion fruit curd and buttery dry scones, a touch of cream, fermented quality toward the end— grape must cakes perhaps; a bit of peppery spirit and prickle.
Finish: Medium-length with peppery lemon peel gummies, slightly drying.
Score: 7 (82)
Mental Image: Homemade Candied Lemon Peel
Narrative & Notes: A “porch sipping whisky” if ever there was one— as were my prior encounters with 1998 Glenburgie. Much like the others, this was less tropical, fruity, and intense than some of the whiskies from the mid-90s, but not unrecognizable. The alcohol was not always well-integrated, as plenty of spirited pepper and heat appeared on the aroma and palate; not at the level of a fatal flaw, but a bit of a distraction from the other elements. Overall, simple fare, built for relaxing— perhaps sacrilegious to some, this was best with a cube of ice.