GlenAllachie’s new 8 Year Old Koval Rye Quarter Cask Wood Finish, 10 Year Old Port Wood Finish and 12 Year Old Pedro Ximenez Sherry Wood Finish, which are all bottled at 48% ABV, are said to highlight the wood management expertise of Master Distiller, Billy Walker.
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| The GlenAllachie Wood Finish Range |
The GlenAllachie 8 Year Old Koval Rye Quarter Cask Wood Finish, was first matured in American oak wood barrels. Followed by an additional maturation period in organic Rye quarter casks from Chicago’s Koval Distillery.
The GlenAllachie 10 year old Port Wood Finish, was initially matured in American oak barrels before being re-racked into vintage Ruby Port wood pipes sourced in North Portugal.
The GlenAllachie 12 Year Old Pedro Ximenez Sherry Wood Finish, was matured for over ten years in American oak wood barrels before being finished in Pedro Ximenez puncheons.
To create the new range of wood finishes, Billy Walker hand-selected barrels from among the 50,000 casks in the 16 warehouses on site at the distillery near Aberlour for the additional maturation period.
Casks were sourced from a variety of bodegas and distilleries that shared Walker’s culture of careful wood management and with whom he had established relationships with through his long career in the whisky industry.
Commenting on the launch, Billy Walker, said: “I’m incredibly excited to unveil this new range featuring GlenAllachie’s first-ever range of wood finishes. Wood management is something I’m very passionate about and we invest a substantial amount of time and money into sourcing exceptional casks from all around the world. I look for casks that will complement and enhance the GlenAllachie spirit, with the different woods making a greater, or sometimes subtle, influence, and taking us on a journey of new flavours.”
He went onto say: “The rich golden Rye Quarter Cask delivers a hit of spice and cloves with classic GlenAllachie characteristics of honey and butterscotch, whereas the ruby red Port Pipe has a sweeter and fruitier flavour, with honey, damson and rose hips. Finally, the Pedro Ximenez, deep rich mahogany in colour, delivers what the eye promises; raisins, sultanas, toffee and dark chocolate. With this first release you can see the impact that a quality and carefully chosen cask can have on our whisky, from the amazing array of colours to the intensity of flavours in the final whisky.’’
GlenAllachie’s new 8 Year Old Koval Rye Quarter Cask Wood Finish, 10 Year Old Port Wood Finish and 12 Year Old Pedro Ximenez Sherry Wood Finish bottlings, will be available later this month from specialist retailers, for the respective RRP’s of £54.99, £54.99 and £58.99.
Posted by Steve Rush