GlenAllachie 1990/2025 - 35 y.o. - Mizunara Virgin Oak, American Virgin Oak, Oloroso & PX Sherry Casks

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 50.2% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

For this 35-year-old GlenAllachie, Billy Walker combined whisky from four individual casks: Mizunara virgin oak, American virgin oak, Oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximénez sherry. The single malt was distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2025 at its natural cask strength of 50.2%; it is non-chill filtered and contains no added colouring.

Rare, porous Japanese Mizunara oak is particularly demanding to fashion into casks. The presentation also draws on Japanese woodworking: a Valchromat box is housed in a specially made wooden case whose Kumiko-inspired side patterns represent the four cask types used.

Mocha, crystallised cinnamon, treacle tart and cocoa open the profile. Roasted hazelnuts, pineapple, ginger and heather honey lead into chocolate-coated raisins, coconut, brandy-soaked orchard fruits and sandalwood, while vanilla, red dried fruits and honeycomb complete the complex character.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose reveals mocha, crystallised cinnamon and treacle tart, followed by cocoa, roasted hazelnuts and pineapple, with gentle notes of ginger and heather honey.
• Palate: The whisky is full-bodied and spicy on the palate. Cocoa, baking spices and chocolate-coated raisins give way to coconut, brandy-soaked orchard fruits and sandalwood, rounded out by vanilla, red dried fruits and honeycomb.
• Finish: The finish is long, warming and balanced, with lingering vanilla, red dried fruits and honeycomb.

Distillery/Bottler:

The GlenAllachie distillery was established in Speyside in 1967 to a design by William Delmé-Evans and began production in 1968. Billy Walker, Trisha Savage and Graham Stevenson acquired it from Chivas Brothers in 2017. Its first core range of proprietary single malts followed in 2018, after the spirit had previously been intended mainly for blends.

Under Billy Walker, carefully managed maturation has become a central focus of the distillery. The team monitors the stock in its own warehouses and continually assesses whether a whisky should be transferred to another cask type or has achieved the desired balance between distillery character and wood influence. Walker selected the four casks for this official bottling, and The GlenAllachie Distillers Co. Ltd bottled the resulting composition.

Facts: