Wilson & Morgan Glenallachie 2014 First Fill Sherry Wood

Sooo… Sherry’s your thing, eh? Well do we have a Members Extra for YOU! An Australian Exclusive 1^st fill Oloroso Sherry Cask aged whisky all the way from Scotland via Italy we have another ‘Scot-Italian Stallion’ for you to get your mitts (and mouths) on!

After last month’s huge response to the Wilson & Morgan Caol Ila, we have another whisky from these Italian independent bottlers.  Last month’s W&M offering was a HUGELY peated whisky, but this month we head in the opposite ‘flavour direction’.  Please make welcome, the W&M Glenallachie 2014 (bottled 2021) 1^st Fill Sherry Wood.  A 1^st fill Oloroso sherry aged whisky that hits all the right notes for the fan of the sherry-bomb.

Glenallachie spirit is known for it’s light and fruity character with malt and honey notes, and this independent bottling frames these characteristics beautifully whilst the 1st fill sherry aging has added a lovely dry, oaky fruitiness that tempers the sweetness somewhat and really balances nicely with the fruit.

Just as last months W&M Caol Ila pulled no punches with it’s peat overload, this Glenallachie really hits hard with it’s intense sherry-led dryness and sharp ‘winey’ notes and over-the-top nutty yeastiness.  If Oloroso matured whisky is your thing, this is going to put a smile on your dial a mile wide!

Nose: Very malty and oaky with honey notes.

Palate: Wow – a scorching dryness erupts in your mouth – but also sour cherry notes float about the palate there’s also roast nuts before the sherry notes makes themselves known.

Finish: Becomes sweeter (but never really ‘sweet’) on the finish with sour-apple notes making a stand as it fades. Really gets those inner-cheeks tingling.

A lovely complex whisky with lots going on at all stages. It’s dryness makes for a fantastic aperitif with a pre-diner canapés. If you’re tastes run towards a dry sherry – then this is a whisky that will be very much to your liking.

A rich, ripe, very juicy and autumnal malt from a relatively young Speyside distillery which is recently experiencing a rebirth. From the dark amber colour to the first whiff in the glass, it’s obvious that this first fill sherry butt was a great one, capable of leaving its mark on the distillate in only a few years: it’s a very raisiny, very nutty whisky, with dark notes of toasted cereals which are well matched by the intense sherry.

The same extreme nuttiness, overall leaning towards a dry style, is nonetheless backed at the palate by the juicy sweetness of dried figs and dates, candied oranges, and a very robust meaty backbone. Lightly roasted coffee, cocoa, and again a big blast of raisins in the end.