Glenallachie 12 Year Old French Virgin Oak Finish Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

A third release in Glenallachie's Virgin Oak series is this French oak edition which obtains its silky tannins, sweet spice and fruit notes from hogsheads made of Quercus Robur sourced from the Haute-Garonne region close to the Pyrenees. The fine-grained, consistent wood is air dried for 15 months before hosting whisky. The result is described as a delectable, subtle and earthy malt. 48% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered. 6600 bottles produced.

Other reviews... They’ve been using oak from the southwest of France this time. Not too far from where they make Armagnac (very roughly). Curious about the accent here… Colour: gold. Nose: it’s utterly fascinating to compare these two babies, as I suppose the base malt was the same fine but slightly ‘neutral’ juice. Long story short, where you were having shortbread, maple syrup, croissants and butterscotch, you would rather find old cellar, bits of metal, earth and chalk, coffee dregs, mead, chestnut honey, butter cream, and sweet white wine, Sauternes-style. I find it a little more complex, less polished and less polite. Mouth: definitely earthy and pretty gingery, with a much bigger rooty side, more nutmeg and coriander (seeds), acidic coffee, touches of chilli, quite a lot of cocoa powder, and tiny bits of bitter oranges. Finish: rather long, spicy and earthy, a little sour in a good way, with a little fig jam and chestnut honey keeping it civilised. Comments: if the original whisky was the same indeed, the differences here are striking. I find this one rather more rustic, but also more complex. So I like it (even) a little better. 86 points - whiskyfun.com