THE REVIEW

Glenalllachie 17yo Oloroso & Mizunara

Quite the spot of decadence this week. A Glenallachie matured in ex-Oloroso and ex-Mizunara barrels. Bottled at 50% ABV with all of the other good natural stuff that comes with it.

Billy Walker dominates the world of sherry in a way that no other person or brand can really even touch. Macallan get close, don’t get me wrong. But when it comes to a positive element of cult of personality. Billy Walker is your go to man!

Billy never distilled this liquid so I’m unsure of it was in ex-bourbon prior to this and re-recked into sherry and Japanese oak, but that’s bye the bye when it comes to flavour. The dominance of the sherry on this liquid is so big bit also so subtle at the same time. You get all of these cocoa nib, orange oil, gentle tobacco notes from all of these huge sherry casks. However, the Mizunara element of this whisky takes a while to come through on the nose. You feel it significantly more on the taste.

Mizunara for me is always dominant with white and black pepper notes. It still has some natural sweetness to it with candied apple, but given the power of these sherry barrels the Mizunara is playing second fiddle to when it comes to aroma. The pepper notes contrast the massive sweetness of the liquid, also providing some wonderfully contrasting dryness that rounds off the taste.

All in all this is a very impressive whisky with loads of appeal. The only real downside is the price that comes along with it. Around that £250+ mark for a seventeen year old liquid is quite a push. A few years ago you would never see a limited edition Glenallachie sat n shelves, how ties are changing.

If you see this in a bar or if you’re in a whisky club with a few friends, this would make an incredible bottle to focus on. I also think the Mizunara could become more dominant the longer it’s open, but that will have to be tested another time.

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