Amongst the last releases from The Whisky Cask selection, here is the Allt-a-Bhainne, a Speyside distillery quite confidential, mainly used for blends like Chivas Regal…
Nose : We immediately think of young fruits coated with sweetness. Quinces mingle with cider while a lighter fruitiness (white peach) comes to the party. Some panna ice cream notes give some smoothness to this nose while cereals are very present. There is some malt but also oats and cut grass. In the background, we find some milk chocolate and candied chestnut. It isn’t very progressive but it offers a simple and just nose. It’s quite my taste.
Mouth : The texture is pretty soft even if the alcohol is well present. We find again the quinces that remain the keystone of this mouth, even if it nicely drifts towards sour apple. We also find quite a lot of malt and, more surprisingly, a woody mark. The smoothness is much more limited than at nose, even if it is here. The water calms the alcohol a bit but reinforces the wood. We are torn concerning this simple mouth that drifts from time to time. The quince is, however, bracing.
Finish : The length is here and lingers in a quite monotonous way on cider, a bid of wood and a strong come-back of cereals. The aftertaste is on malt and quinces (truly).
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