After enjoying my first two Glendullan single malts on Friday, I continued exploring new experiences by reviewing a pair of Allt-A-Bhainne whiskies for the first time. These came from two independent bottlers I hadn’t tried anything from before: The Whisky Castle and Chapter 7. I review the Allt-A-Bhainne 1979 Whisky Castle and 1995 Chapter 7. Interestingly, the latter was distilled the same year the former was bottled.
Allt-A-Bhainne Distillery
Allt-A-Bhainne distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located near Dufftown in the Speyside region of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by Chivas Brothers Ltd., originally as part of Seagrams, with the primary purpose of producing malt whisky for blending, notably for Chivas Regal and other blends. The distillery was designed with modern efficiency in mind, housing all its equipment – including mash tun, washbacks, and stills – in a single room on one level, allowing operation by minimal staff. It has two wash stills and two spirit stills, producing around 4 million litres of pure alcohol annually. The distillery has no visitor centre and is not open to the public. While its output is mainly used in blends, some single malt bottlings have been released, mostly through independent bottlers and more recently by the distillery itself. Ownership passed to Pernod Ricard in 2001, and the distillery experienced a temporary closure from 2002 to 2005 before resuming production.
There are almost no official bottlings, with just a NAS released in 2018, and a few age statement and cask strength releases as part of Chivas’ Distillery Reserve Collection, available at all Chivas’ visitor centres… so not even at the distillery itself, which is not open to the public.
The name ‘Allt-á-Bhainne’ is derived from Scottish Gaelic. In English, it translates to ‘Milk Burn’ or ‘Stream of Milk’. This name likely refers to the clear, milky appearance of the water in the stream near the distillery.
Allt-A-Bhainne 1979 Number 4 The Whisky Castle (1995) Review
The Whisky Castle is a whisky shop and an occasional independent bottler based in Tomintoul, established in 1904. They selected a few casks of Allt-A-Bhainne from 1979, and this is their ’Number 4′, distilled in October 1979 and bottled at 16 years old in November 1995 from cask 26,330. They reduced it to 43% ABV and released it as an unknown number of full-size and 50 ml miniature bottles. It doesn’t seem to often appear at auction. I bought a mini a long time ago, which I finally opened for this review.
Colour:
White wine.
Nose:
Neat: Notes of flowers, pears, green and red apples, porridge, and freshly cut grass. Unfortunately, there isn’t much complexity. There is also a slight hint of damp cardboard, reminiscent of a broken whisky bottle during delivery.
Palate:
Neat: The mouthfeel is light, though I expected it to be even lighter. Notes of lemon, pepper, a touch of wood, and ginger, which gave it a slightly prickly sensation. There is a very light soapiness, but much less than in the Living Souls 40-year-old blend. I also pick up a few floral notes and some chocolate.
Finish:
Flavours of pears and apples dipped in melted chocolate, along with cardboard, raw oak, and a small hint of soap. The finish is of medium to short length.
Comments:
Well, one might wonder why they chose to bottle this at that time instead of revitalising it with a finish in an active cask or using it in a blend. On its own, this whisky is quite disappointing, likely due to a tired refill cask. Without the cardboard and soap notes, it could have scored up to 5, but with these off notes, I might be too generous with a 4/10. At least these flaws aren’t too intense.
Rating: 4/10
Allt-A-Bhainne 1995 Chapter 7 (2014) Review
Chapter 7 started as a Swiss independent bottler in 2014 but moved to Scotland in 2019 to release more whiskies. They selected a 1995 Allt-A-Bhainne that matured for 18 years in a bourbon hogshead, cask number 166300, before bottling it at cask strength in 2014 at 59.2% ABV. The hogshead produced 264 bottles, all of which have sold out.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose presents an intense aroma of overripe fruits, but the alcohol introduces solvent notes that feel a bit hot, making it challenging to analyse initially. There are hints of vanilla and a slightly cloying sweetness.
With water: Notes of prunes, damp leaves, mirabelles, and hints of apricots emerge. There is also a lactic undertone, reminiscent of old yogurt.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is slightly drying and quite intense, with an acrid, chalky mouthfeel, suggesting active wood. Flavours of burnt caramel or dark caramel-flavoured cough syrup, brown bread, and cereals are present.
With water: Flavours of tinned fruits, though less sweet, along with breakfast chocolate powder and liquorice, become noticeable.
Finish:
The finish is long, with a lingering taste of dark, concentrated caramel accompanied by peppery warmth and liquorice.
Comments:
This Allt-A-Bhainne presents a challenge. The cask is far more active than the one from Whisky Castle, but it seems to have made the spirit rawer and more intense. Water helps to calm and open up the flavours, yet this 1995 Allt-A-Bhainne from Chapter 7, distilled the same year the Whisky Castle version was bottled, is difficult to appreciate. These are two very different expressions of Allt-A-Bhainne, but neither stands out as exceptional.