Meikle Tòir, 2019, 2025, 60.3 %, #8723, WB289160

When you arrive at Glenallachie Distillery, you walk or drive past several storehouses with racks, comparable in size to those at Macallan. Apparently, most of the stock is still in possession of Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard). During the tour, you will see the dunnage warehouses and be led to the tasting room, which showcases artwork of Glenallachie bottlings drawn by the tour guide himself.  

The nose is reminiscent of BBQ sauce with lots of umami notes from grilled or fried roast. There are also hints of baked apples and other fruits that I cannot yet identify...cranberries. There are maybe some tobacco aromas, but not a fired sensation, just a sweaty one.  

Palate: Sweetness paired with an ashtray sensation, despite the high ABV, the beverage does not burn much. There are hints of smoked tofu in soy sauce, sourness and salt. The peat is neither troubling nor challenging, inducing complex yet integrated aromas. Finish: A chilli

kick with a warming sensation and lingering Bordeaux tannins. The oily, sweet residues of the whisky let you enjoy it smoochingly for a long time. 

90/90/90 

 

 

 

Isle of Raasay for the Maclean Foundation 2019 2025, 5 Years old, #19/1092, 61,1% ABV, WB290184, WB283551

Nose (1h-2h): Cognac flavours and fruit spirit, cherry. Behind the superficial youth there are flashes of preserved dark fruits. However, the youth gains the upper hand in a tingling manner. Alcoholic freshness on the nose, manifested in mint and eucalyptus. Not far from cough drops. Mountain herbs and Klosterfrau lemon balm spirit. Smells like a cold and hospital. Get well soon from the 'Final Touch'. Other glasses reveal sultanas, baker's yeast, bread, caramel, toffee, marzipan, dusty library.

Palate: sage, orange pips, tonnes of bitter almonds. Marzipan with

candied orange peel. I liked the nose much better. No easy drink. Diluting with water does no good. Grappa with very high ABV. No more cognac, no more brandy, 'just' alcohol with flavour.

Finish: The finish is very burning and short, the bitten-through seeds linger unpleasantly in the mouth, the high alcohol burns unpleasantly. The mouth is flooded with grapefruit juice and the white part, the pith, of the grapefruit.

Ultimately a very young and unbalanced whisky. Bought to support the project, but not a real pleasure to drink.

We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

88/85/80