Glenallachie Anniversary Selection 35 years (en)

This bottle was sent to us by The Whisky Exchange. This is a remarkable bottle for several reasons. First, by it's age and especially by the fact that Glenallachie does not enjoy a high reputation in the world of single malt lovers. Another effect of blind tastings, this bottle has finished in first place hands down. Moreover, it is the bottle that is currently number one in all sessions combined (about 36 bottles tasted). The notes are spread out between 93 and 80 points, a difference of 13 points. The average assigned to this bottle of 24 entries is 88.33. Outstanding performance.
Here are the notes extremes:

jmputz

Color: Brown A very rich nose made from a mixture of sherry and nice coffee notes. Very nice complexity while maintaining a remarkable balance. The nose is a rare quality. The palate is fresher and more diverse than the nose. The original notes of sherry add a nice fresh acidity that evolves constantly going from notes marked by coffee at others showing a nice acid freshness (balsamic vinegar). Some very subtle oak notes. A beautiful mouth. Beautiful finish. Long, cool. Nice notes of sherry, nice complexity, a delicate wood notes embellish the final complex and extremely pleasant.

Johannes Sauer	Colour: Rather dark, rosewood brown, mahogany, beautiful red and greenish glints. Sherry cask? Nose: Sweet and full, lots of dried fruits, raisins, figs, dates, the whole thing. Sherry or port – (no, I think sherry) - finish. Very complex, the age is hard to guess, could be higher indeed. Taste: The alcohol has a strong entrance (46%?). Again the dried fruits and sugar, combining very well with delicate liquorice and salmiak notes. Smoke or peat are nowhere to find. Pleasant nevertheless. Finish: Far too short, getting quickly very watery on the palate. Leaving a weak picture and disturbes the very nice complex impression from the nose and the entrance. Makes revise my guess above about a higher age. Conclusion: A Speysider which was perhaps forgotten in his sherry cask (Aberlour?), I’d preferred more tastes of the original cask, the finish is disappointing, I don’t think, it is a original bottling. The price might be high but I’d regret to pay more than 35 Euro for this bottle. I see again, guessworks might be right or totally wrong but are the most fun...
PatGVA	N: sherry (too?) present there are all the flavors of sherry, whisky has difficulty expressing itself but there are nice hints of pear, tobacco. B: violence is a bit of a disappointment, there is an explosion of flavors and everything collapses, bizarre, unbalanced F: very long retro olfaction on pineapple, mango and tobacco, many astringency.

The complete set of notes is to be found here: http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/WhiskyWDTS/2011-03/Bottle2_EN.shtml