The multiplicity of Scotland is well known, and thoroughly reflected in areas like art and literature. Its Scotch whisky reflects this too, and none more so than the sweet smokiness of The GlenAllachie’s Meikle Tòir collection. 

To understand Scotch, one must first understand Scotland, and there is no better way to do this than through its rich culture and history. In terms of the former, an examination of contemporary Scottish literature offers unique insights into Scottish culture. Take for instance Alasdair Gray’s Lanark: A Life in Four Books, where the novel’s avant-garde, experimental nature is manifest in its multiplicity of perspectives and narrative structure, revealing a wider sense of diversity prevalent within Scottish society. In a similar vein, Scotch, too, is another facet of Scottish culture that reflects this multiplicity: the various Scottish whisky-making regions all have their own unique interpretations of ‘the water of life’. The result is a variety of flavour profiles and tasting notes: ranging from Speyside’s characteristic sweet and fruity, to Islay’s signature fiery and smoky.

Keeping that in mind, The GlenAllachie’s Meikle Tòir (pronounced mee-kuhl tor) range is a fascinating release. For context, the distillery is located in the heart of Speyside, but the expressions in the collection are all heavily peated (smoky-flavoured) — such cross-regional experiments are rare in the realm of Scotch. While the collection is a bold, experimental first from the independent distillery, all the elements that go into great Scotch are maintained: all four expressions are non-chill filtered, naturally-coloured, and bottled at either 48% or 50% ABV, which, although not quite cask strength, is close enough. An expectation, given legendary distiller and GlenAllachie co-owner Billy Walker’s heavy involvement in the production of the Meikle Tòir collection. The author was lucky enough to sample three of the four five-year old expressions in the collection: The Original, The Sherry One, and The Chinquapin One.

The Original

Beginning with The Original: The GlenAllachie’s classic single malt with a peaty twist. On the nose, it carries notes of earthy barbecue and salty sea air — notes you would typically find in a Islay whisky, but a more subtle, sweet note of burnt honey filters through as well, hinting at the expression’s Speyside heart. This is reflected on the palate: The Original’s aging in first-fill Bourbon barrels, American virgin oak casks and rye barrels, is responsible for the expression’s notes of dark chocolate, and honey, but the peat influence shines through with spicy ginger and cinnamon notes. 50% ABV is as close to cask strength as it gets with this collection — while it sounds intimidating, it translates to a rich mouthfeel you won’t be able to get enough of.

If peat is a little too strong, especially for those getting acquainted with it, a drop of water goes a long way in ‘opening up’ the whisky. The slight saltiness becomes more pronounced, but does not overwhelm the sweetness of the whisky, which now takes the form of a citrusy gingerbread and more pronounced butterscotch note.

Letting the Scotch ‘rest’ for about 15-20 minutes helps too — the peat note on the nose tails off to a more honeyed, leathery fragrance, while the palate evolves into sweet citrus vanilla while retaining that spicy ginger note.

All in all, a great expression: one that might catch Islay drinkers off guard initially, but which will nevertheless delight in equal measure or more.

The Sherry One

As its name suggests, The Sherry One essentially shares the same maturation process as The Original, except that it is aged in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry puncheons — evident in its darker, sherry-imbued colour. This difference translates into a more sweet, earthy note, with orange peel, honey and burnt sugar notes juxtaposed against peated notes of barbecue sauce and a hint of candied bacon on the nose. Palate-wise, the distinction between sweet and smoky is blurred somewhat, with notes of dark chocolate and smoked honey mixed in with heavier notes of earthy barbecue sauce and candied bacon. The Sherry One might be bottled at 48% ABV, but rest assured: mouthfeel is as rich and creamy as The Original.

Once again, adding a drop of water also alters the tasting notes. It becomes a more forgiving introduction for non-peated drinkers, with the whisky taking on a more chocolatey, fruitcake flavour profile, albeit with a slightly burnt, smoky fragrance. That being said, the peat does stick around on the finish, so peat lovers won’t be missing out on anything.

That being said, letting The Sherry One rest brought out its most interesting variation in the nose and taste profile: a pronounced burnt leather and honey note on the former, with the latter having a more distinct citrusy, orange peel flavour added into the mix.

At the end of the day, The Sherry One navigates eloquently between the nuances of its sherry heart and peaty character — a neat middle ground for those who want the best of both worlds.

The Chinquapin One

The inclusion of ‘Chinquapin’ in the expression’s name offers a clear enough indication as to its maturation process — it is aged in Chinquapin virgin oak barrels sourced from the Northern Ozark region of Missouri, in the US. A kind of white oak, chinquapin oak generally tends to imbue the spirit it bears with darker-tasting toffee notes, with the spice notes coming from nutmeg, ginger, anise and clove. The Chinquapin One hence bears most of these hallmarks, and its inclusion in the collection marks this as the most unexpected expression of the lot — chinquapin oak is generally used by whisky-makers who have a proclivity towards experimentation, but are talented at selecting vessels to age whisky in.

That being said, for those who know of Master Distiller Billy Walker’s stellar reputation, its inclusion is no surprise, given Walker’s status as one of — if not the most — respected cask wrangler in the world of single-malt Scotch at this time. Moreover, he has been incorporating chinquapin in the distilling process at The GlenAllachie for some time, so its inclusion in the Meikle Tòir collection is an inevitability.

The expression’s uniqueness within the collection is stark, as the peat note on the nose is a sweet barbecue, with burnt liquorice and orange peel, followed by deeper notes of cola and anise. Its palate is just as interesting — a sweet-and-spicy mix of ginger ale, campfire smoke, orange liqueur and anise, before the peat influence in the pepper, ginger, and smoky barbecue notes come in.

The introduction of a drop of water adds a honey note on the nose, with a creamy, citrusy and deep oak note. Letting it rest also imbues it with a leather note, with additional hint of smoky cherry and pears on the palate.

To this author’s understanding, chinquapin-aged expressions are an acquired taste — hence this expression might be a hit or miss. Nevertheless, it is one where Billy Walker’s expertise shines through, and only enhances his reputation further.

Altogether, while the collection is a solid lineup of young, peated whisky, it also represents a potential stepping stone into the heavy, smoky world of peat, given the delicate balance between its sweet, Highland flavour profiles and the charred peat notes.

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