Glenmorangie - Allta - Private Edition No. 10-10th Anniversary - Whisky

Product Information

Ideally I’d have liked to age it for longer but I was concerned that with the ever-increasing influence of wood we’d lose the impact of the yeast itself, which was at its maximum in the new make. That’s why we used only second-fill and refill Bourbon casks. I can definitely see this adding some robustness to other Glenmorangie expressions, and in my view, this is actually where things become really interesting….

The news of this year’s release, however, got me a bit excited. The 2019 Private Edition, named Allta (which is Gaelic for “wild”) is a whisky experiment I’ve long been curious to see made—a single malt whisky using a non-standard yeast strain. And not just a proprietary yeast strain cultivated in a lab, but a wild yeast. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). After a few sips, the fruitiness shows more, but it never takes over and that heavy oakiness stays present and constant. But I’m ok with that. I can see how it would be distracting to some classic single malt lovers, but as someone who also loves bourbon, I find the oak in the Glenmorangie Astar to be warm and inviting. Palate: Toasted barley, date slice, toffee (perhaps coated in dark chocolate?), and bread-and-butter pudding. It’s obviously on the sweeter side, but it never becomes cloying or overdone, and the balance is maintained by the input of pine nuts, oak, and a hint of grassiness. The tenth, and so far final, release in the Private Editions line was the Glenmorangie Allta (2019). Its name translates to wild and is in reference to a unique strain of wild yeast Dr. Bill discovered on their Cadboll barley.Comments: Previous Private Edition releases have been bottled at 46%, and the Allta’s much higher ABV of 51.2% is immediately apparent (and welcome). As we’ve become accustomed to with the Glenmorangie Private Edition range, the Glenmorangie DNA is never far from the surface, but there’s some significant complexity and diversity in this to make it notably different to the flagship 10yo “Original”. Regardless of any fancy gaelic name or exotic yeast treatment, the simple question to ask is, “Is this delicious?”. The answer is a resounding “Yes”. Conclusion: A very successful experiment IMHO. While not overly ‘wild’ the Allta is highly drinkable and offers a different flavor profile than your average Glenmorangie. Among the better Private Edition of recent years. Always fun seeing such editions emerge from big whisky brands, who allow themselves to experiment with different parameters that affect the whisky. Score: 87/100 Linger: Spicy and bitter, with pepper, grapefruit rind and hints of golden delicious apples. There’s some of the pine in the finish too, and it’s very long and spicy, with the linger long in the gullet and inside the cheeks. Conclusion

The body is light. The palate is very forward with a note of buttery toffee banana, and citrus, mainly orange. Some vanilla creeps in, but is not overly present. It is very yeasty as well. The palate overall is not very complex nor deep, even for the proof. Finish The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. Something about the sweetness coming off of this reminds me of the sugar-free lollipops I got from the dentist when I was a kid.With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.