Glenallachie Meikle Tòir The Chinquapin One 5 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

 "A totally non-coastal peat, it's a welcome variation for us." - whiskyfun.com

The second in the Meikle Toir series gets some of its complexity from casks made of Chinquapin oak (Quercus Muehlenbergii) sourced from the Northern Ozark region in Missouri. A subspecies of Quercus Alba, Chinquapin delivers spicy flavours and aromas, so it's probably closer to French oak than American oak when it comes to flavour influence. Or, as Glenallachie's Warehouse Manager Lindsay Cormie explains, "The Chinquapin cask itself has the aroma of old leather and cigar smoke, which works wonderfully well with the sweetness derived from the Bourbon casks – the combination of both casks complements our beautifully sweet peat character."

Other reviews... That's right, Glenallachie's own peater, in this case peated to 35ppm peat IN THE DISTILLATE (I've heard). This is how you should pronounce it: 'Mee-Kuhl Tor', Sounds like the name of a Norwegian doom-hard-black-metal band, does it not. Colour: gold. Nose: very modern, very cool, with lots of bacon, sauna oils, and new rubber. It's almost like visiting a car dealership with all these new tyres and all the spent motor oil gathered in the trays. There are many Speyside distilleries that have recently tried peat, including some previously managed by Billy Waller (Benriach), and most have achieved slightly average results in my opinion. That is not the case here, I really like this very... automotive profile. Cars and bacon, nice combination! Mouth: in keeping with this, but with new flavours like burnt lemon tart and worn-out dragster tyre. It's really quite fun; it's far from the first 'Chinkapin oak' from Glenmorangie, do you remember it? A totally non-coastal peat, it's a welcome variation for us. Finish: long and more lemony and spicy, that's the American barrel responding to the peat. Comments: It's a bit like the Fight Club, but indeed, it's fun. I think we're going to stop before we see who won, we don't have all night (nor a good litre of this crazy Meikle Toir) ahead of us. 89 points - whiskyfun.com

... Smooth, soft, and a little bit of fruit, crisp malt, smoky sawdust, iodine and liquorice, cashew nut butter, bonfire, freshly rolled tobacco, charred lemons, wood fired oven bread. Despite being slightly confused about how similar this sounded to the original, there are some really distinct notes, and this has a good value in the lineup. - malt-review.com

Double Gold - San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2024