When whisky legend Billy Walker (no relation to Johnnie), Master Blender of the new Meikle Tòir, was finally inducted into Whisky Magazine’s prestigious Hall of Fame in 2021, it felt a dram too late. The man had already spent five decades on the scene, had worked as a Master Blender since 1976 and had been acquiring and running his own distilleries since 2004. He almost singlehandedly put The GlenAllachie on the map (perhaps best represented by its triumph as World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2021) and was responsible for some of the better bottles of brands such as BenRiach, GlenDronach, and Glenglassaugh.
It is within the GlenAllachie distillery that Billy Walker has done some of his finest work. The distillery, situated at the foot of Ben Rinnes in the Grampian mountain range, is of strategic value to whisky makers. Walker saw this, and sought to further the potential of its water source (the Ben Rinnes Springs) and utilise the unique mainland peat in the region. He had also wanted to create peated whiskies for the first time in the distillery’s history to mark a new era.
Under Walker’s guidance, the distillery began production of Meikle Tòir, a new peated spirit, a rarity within the broader Speyside region. Central to the process is the use of premium mainland peat from St Fergus, a village on the North-Eastern coast of Scotland renowned for imparting a sweeter, oakier smoke profile due to its primary source of decaying trees rather than general vegetation.
Following a patient fermentation period of 160 hours, the spirit is distilled and aged in a selection of high-quality barrels ranging from American ex-bourbon and virgin oak to Oloroso Sherry barrels, depending on the expression. Each cask undergoes meticulous evaluation by Walker and his team to ensure only the finest spirits are bottled. The resulting liquid captures the essence of its environment with a distinctive peaty allure.
Bottled at high strength, non-chill filtered, and with no added colour, the whiskies from Meikle Tòir are aged for five years, showcasing bold peaty characteristics that will gradually mellow with time. These features make them audacious statements in today’s whisky world. The four expressions are The Original, The Sherry One, The Chinquapin One and the very aptly named The Turbo.
They are differentiated by the casks in which they are matured. The Original is the peaty whisky Billy Walker had sought to achieve — the St Fergus peat truly comes to the fore here, complementing amazingly with its rich, honeyed flavour profile that features notes of dark chocolate and burnt honey. The Sherry One was aged in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels, followed by Pedro Ximénez & Oloroso Sherry puncheons. This gives The Sherry One added notes of fig and treacle for a deeper, more complex drink. The Chinquapin One is perhaps the revelation among the four. Aged in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels, followed by Chinquapin (a subspecies of American Oak) virgin oak barrels, the whisky gives aromas of smoldering oak embers, burnt liquorice, and honey mingle with hints of ginger, butterscotch, and orange peel on the nose, while on the palate, notes of cocoa, crème brûlée, and toasted almonds dominate, accompanied by flavors of cinnamon, aniseed, and campfire smoke. The Turbo, the rarest of the lot, is crafted for peaty whisky diehards. Aged in a combination of three American virgin oak casks and five Oloroso hogsheads, it has the highest phenol content, resulting in a multi-faceted whisky with a powerful punch of peat. These casks also give it a nice toastiness. With this, you get flavour notes of smoked spices, roasted chestnuts and charred oak.
Between these four expressions, you have whiskies to sway the unconverted to peaty whiskies, and you have whiskies for the most zealous peaty whisky drinkers. Having proven his skills earlier in the 21st century with The GlenAllachie, BenRiach, GlenDronach, and Glenglassaugh, it might be Meikle Tòir that truly cements the legend of Billy Walker.
