GLENALLACHIE 1972 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Another hidden Speysider is Glenallachie. It's a new distillery in historical terms, having been built in in 1967-68. It's owned by the Chivas Group and it produces in excess of 3.000.000 liters of alcohol each year, almost all going into blends.

Glenallachie Distillery, Speyside Spring 2011 © The Malt Desk

Glenallachie doesn't have a an official bottling, except for an expression in the Chivas 50cl Cask Strength Series, which also means its far from readily available for you to try as a malt.

Luckily a few casks escape the blenders and this one I'm about to review is one of them... and oh, my... is it a special one...!

Glenallachie 1972 38yo xx.03.1972/xx.01.2011 50% Sherry butt#DL6880, 302 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Amber coloured

Nose:
What a strange one, indeed...Fresh black engine oil, milk chocolate/latte? also giving off some incredible cigar box notes and a feeling of stepping into a mechanics pit... Its a 'dirty' nose for sure - but it works!

Taste:
Bitter sweet, dark fruits with a smoky edge, hazelnuts and creamy coffee and again with a very oily dirty diesel feeling to it - then some cappucino notes and more old cigar box.

This has to be the strangest whisky I've had in 2012, so far... it all sounds very funky and/or repulsive... but its not - at least not to me!

This climbs way up there to 90/100!