Glenmorangie Allta
Glenmorangie’s annual Private Edition series has produced a few interesting whiskies over the years, although nothing that’s really excited me all that much. I enjoyed Bacalta, the 2017 release. I did not care for Milsean (2016). I skipped last year’s Spios, mainly because it didn’t sound like it was all that interesting, particularly at the price point of these limited releases.
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.
The role of yeast in whisky making is a vital one, but the vast majority of distilleries in Scotland use standard distillers or brewers yeast, or perhaps their own version of a similar strain. There is little experimentation or variation in this regard, which is a bit different than the distilleries in the US. When it comes to making bourbon, many of the big American distilleries have their own proprietary yeast strains that they cultivate and protect, sometimes more than one. Four Roses is famous for having five different yeast strains, which they use to create differing flavor profiles.
As a long time fan of Four Roses who enjoys comparing the different yeast strains and bourbon recipes, I’ve always wondered why we don’t see similar yeast variations in scotch whisky. There are only so many areas where you can experiment with the production of a single malt scotch when it comes to the actual ingredients. Just three, after all—barley, water, and yeast. We’ve seen plenty of whisky released using specific types and sources of barley. Most every distillery uses their own specific water source (although I’m personally not convinced that water source plays a major factor in flavor profile, if any factor at all… a topic for another day perhaps). But yeast? Nobody seems to play around with yeast, at least not publicly. But surely this lack of yeast fun wouldn’t last forever.
Enter Glenmorangie. Several years ago, Master Distiller Dr. Bill Lumsden and the Glenmorangie team began to play around with the idea of using alternate yeast to make whisky. They decided to use a wild yeast strain (named Saccharomyces diaemath) found growing in the barley fields near the distillery. If you’re a fan of sour beer, then you know the idea of using wild yeast is nothing new when it comes to alcoholic beverages. But in whisky? Quite uncommon.
Funny thing about yeast—it’s basically everywhere. Wherever you find life on Earth, you will probably find yeast. It’s actually quite an interesting topic, particularly in regards to making alcohol. If you’re interested in reading up on the science of yeast and alcohol production, I highly recommend a book called Proof: The Science of Booze by Adam Rogers. It’s a terrific read.
Glenmorangie Allta is a young, no age statement (NAS) whisky, matured in ex-bourbon casks (many of which were second-fill casks). The lack of an age statement is disappointing, but not surprising—it’s pretty much par for the course with these types of annual releases from the likes of Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, and the rest. The good news is that Allta comes in at a respectably high ABV (51.2%). But how does it taste? Let’s see.
Glenmorangie Allta Review
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Highlands
Age: NAS
ABV: 51.2%
Nose
Funky and fruity. Cider. Jamaican rum. Baked bread. Yeasty. Challenging, yet fun. Funky, but vibrant. Interesting, yes, but not necessarily my favorite nose. It’s fun to smell for the sake of curiosity, but not necessarily for enjoyment.
Palate
Fruity, creamy, and malty. A bit funky too—more in the style of Jamaican rum than Springbank/Campbeltown funk. Sourdough bread. Young and yeasty. Barley sugar. Hemp. Spirity new make notes are present, unfortunately. Moonshine. Reminiscent of young craft whisky which hasn’t been matured long enough. The palate opens up with some air time, with the fruity notes coming out more. There are some interesting notes here, but not particularly enjoyable ones.
Finish
Short, which is probably for the better. What’s here is fairly unpleasant. Slightly rotten fruits. Sour.
Overall
When I first opened my bottle of Allta, it was a funky and gross mess. Imagine if someone made a concoction of about 75% Glenmorangie 10 year old, 20% moonshine, and 5% Jamaican pot still rum, gargled it in their throat immediately after having smoked a marijuana cigarette, spit it back out, and served it to you. That’s pretty much how I would describe the initial pour of Allta. After letting it sit for a few weeks, it changed a good amount for the better, although it still isn’t very good. At least it’s somewhat drinkable now and continues to get better, slightly better, with more oxidation. Even so, those undesirable initial notes are still hanging about.
The use of wild yeast has clearly influenced the flavor profile, but unfortunately this whisky is too immature to take advantage of those influences. Too much new make on the palate, too many off notes. If this was matured another… I don’t know, five years maybe, this might be quite good. Maybe. But as it stands, Allta has too many flaws. I suspect Glenmorangie rushed Allta to the market so they could be the first major whisky producer to release a single malt made with wild yeast (Dr. Lumsden hinted at this in an interview on WhiskyCast). The end result is a massive disappointment. I’m halfway through my bottle of Allta, and I have no real desire to drink any more of it (and had to force myself to drink enough to put a decent review together.
SCORE: 3/10
Final Thoughts
I love the yeast experiment, but hate the execution. Allta is simply too immature. The distillate has potential. Given more time in oak, I believe this whisky could eventually shine. But not at its obviously young age, and not in whatever seemingly mediocre casks were used here.
My understanding is that Glenmorangie has continued to experiment with their wild yeast and is producing a limited run of whisky with it on an annual basis. In spite of my dislike of this particular expression, I’m glad they are distilling more. Hopefully future releases will be improved.
Buying Advice: Pass. If you’re interested in seeing the effects of using wild yeast in a single malt whisky, then by all means try a sample at a bar, but I do not recommend spending the $100 asking price on a full bottle.
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
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