GlenAllachie 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Billy Walker considers the 12 year old the heart of the range, with some of the best casks selected. Like the ten year old, this is matured in a mixture of virgin oak, Oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. It is just as deeply coloured, though fresher and slightly less robust than the ten year old. A touch of chocolate box and Turkish delight to the opening sniff followed by a medley of dried fruits, cocoa, clove, honey and vanilla... Once again, no shortage of concentration on the palate; A saturate of dried fruits and spice also suggesting orange oils, citrus blossom, chocolate box and hints of dried apricot. Super vibrant to finish. Fine astringency through the final stages makes for excellent sweet-dry balance. Easily one of the more flavour-packed 12 year olds going around - and with a little more 'breed' than the brawny 10. Great stuff. 46% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered.

Other reviews... Oily on the nose, with ripe banana and a hint of oak. Quite full-bodied and slick on the palate, with vanilla, honey, and almonds. Milk chocolate and lime in the medium-length finish. 89 points - whiskyadvocate.com

...This is from one of Billy Walker's batches, but there already appears to have been quite a few of them and I couldn't tell you which one this is. Most seem to mention a mixture of Oloroso, PX and virgin oak. Colour: amber - surprisingly dark. Nose: very nice, rather classical on fudge, Dundee cake, shoe polish, mixed peppercorns and a slightly sticky jammy quality - sticky dark fruits I suppose. Feels like quite a sherry-dominated batch. Mouth: some active oak, but also rather a lot of dark grained breads, stout beers, molasses, dates, treacle cake and walnuts. Herbal bitters too, along with some strong fresh black coffee and bitter chocolate. Bish bash bosh! Finish: medium, quite bready, dark and savoury. Umami paste, forest mushrooms and leathery notes. Comments: the oak is there, draping everything in perhaps a notch too much spice, but there's many gooey sherried treats to enjoy underneath. Not sure all batches have been up to this spec though. 85 points - whiskyfun.com