Glenallachie 1989

Of all the distilleries Billy Walker could have purchased in 2017, he picked this unassuming Speyside producer established in 1967 from Pernod Ricard. The deal included the maturing stock, which was destined for the Chivas blends, but now instead, has been given a single malt spotlight by Billy’s team using the same finishing approaches that worked well at Benriach and GlenDronach. The move that has been successful so far, gives us an appreciation of the consistency of Scotch whisky production across the country. Now we know the single malt from this distillery with a variety of age statements, cask strengths and finishes being released worldwide. The true Glenallachie whisky of interest will arrive once the whisky distilled during the new owner’s regime is released. For this, they have maximised fermentation and brought a variety of new methods into the distillery. Prior to Billy’s arrival, the distillery had minor visibility, with just a single official bottling, which makes his choice even more interesting and one we can judge later this decade.