Meikle Toir 5 yo The Original - Heavily Peated GlenAllachie

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 50% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Meikle Tòir The Original combines mainland peat with three different cask influences. The Single Malt matures for five years in First-Fill Bourbon Barrels, previously unfilled American oak casks and Rye Barrels that previously held rye whiskey. This cask selection brings pickled ginger, sweet spices and oak-smoked sugar into its aromatic profile.

Peat from St. Fergus is used in production. It creates a sweeter style, more reminiscent of oak smoke than coastal peat. The distillate has a phenol content of 35 ppm; this figure refers to the spirit, not the finished malt. The whisky is bottled at 50% alcohol without chill filtration or added colouring.

The 0.7-litre bottle comes in gift packaging. The packaging was designed by Scottish illustrator Iain McIntosh and depicts the landscape around the distillery, including Ben Rinnes.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Baking spices, burnt honey and roasted coffee beans emerge on the nose. These are followed by hazelnuts, smoked almonds and butterscotch.
• Palate: On the palate, gentle wisps of sweet peat smoke accompany chocolate and heather honey. Cinnamon, ginger and oak-smoked sugar follow.
• Finish: Dark espresso and honeyed sweetness linger in the long finish. A delicate smoky note remains at the end.

Distillery/Bottler:

Meikle Tòir is made at The GlenAllachie in Speyside under the direction of Master Distiller Billy Walker. Following the acquisition of the distillery in 2017, his team began seasonal production of peated whisky in 2018. Approximately six weeks each year are set aside for this. Meikle Tòir launched as a separate brand in 2023; its Gaelic name roughly means “great endeavour”.

A key production decision is the extended fermentation time of 160 hours. This encourages a fruity, ester-rich character in the resulting whisky. Together with the choice of mainland peat and carefully selected casks, it forms the basis of Meikle Tòir’s style. The brand’s first core releases were developed under Walker’s direction, from production through to maturation.

Facts: