LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY By David Beaufort-Dysart
W L FOOD & DRINK
LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY By David Beaufort-Dysart
Hello fellow Whisky lovers.
So here I am lying in bed, wide awake at silly o’ clock and its 3:20am …’ you’ re kidding me’!
After counting 100 odd shabby sheep, I picked up my phone( I know it’ s bad) I found myself browsing at Whisky’ s and suddenly came across an article about‘ The GlenAllachie 12-year-old’ winning best Single Malt Whisky at the 2025 World Whisky Awards, 3 minutes later it’ s in a basket ready for check out.
So, before we move into our next Whisky producing country, I have decided to feature this‘ award winning dram’ in this month’ s article. Before we do, let’ s talk about consumer behaviour, Whisky is driven by factors such as tradition, aspiration, price point, value factors etc. along with the emotional connection( me in the mood to purchase a bottle of Whisky at 3am). Whisky’ s global footprint is rapidly expanding also, great news for us the consumer, producers in countries like India( my next column!), Taiwan and Australia are now creating exceptional Whisky. This changing landscape has happened with wine also; especially English Sparkling wine which is now confidently competing with our close neighbours in Champagne! Had I said this comment 30 years ago, I would have been laughed at, then been bombarded with rotten fruit!( including the classic champagne grapes!)
What are we tasting today? GlenallAchie 12-Year-Old, Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
GlenallAchie is a relatively modern distillery, having been built in Banffshire in 1967 by Mackinlay, McPherson & Co., Mackinlay, McPherson sold GlenAllachie to Invergordon
Distillers in 1985. The new owners closed the distillery in 1987, before selling it to Campbell Distillers.
Official bottlings have been few and far between a 12-yearold was available in the 1980s, but the most recent official bottlings have been( atypically) heavily sherried.
Crowned the world’ s Best Single Malt 2025, this unpeated Speyside is a sherry bomb. Their core philosophy: exceptional wood is key to creating superlative Whisky.
I love the new branding on the bottle it’ s almost a lighter shade of Cadburys purple, just to diverse for a moment, Queen Victoria was a fan of Cadburys, hence the royal warrant and purple was her favourite colour, there is a lovely almost milk chocolate note around the typical Speyside stewed fruit character!
With satisfyingly complex yet perfectly balanced flavours of sweet spice, dark roasted coffee, stewed apples and cocoa powder, it’ s a full-bodied Whisky that can be enjoyed at a high strength of 46 %, without added colouring or chill filtration, this allows the quality to speak for itself.
Nose: hints of chocolate, treacle, and heather honey, with cinnamon, espresso, and sticky raisins in the background. Taste: marzipan and orchard fruit tones, followed by warming mocha, butterscotch, and grated nutmeg. Finish: rich fruit,
“ When life hands you lemons make Whisky sours”. W. C. Fields
Until next time friends... Slàinté
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