Glenmorangie Allta Scotch Review (2019)

By Andrew Graham

Grade: B

The Glenmorangie Allta 2019
(Credit: Glenmorangie)

Once upon a time, distillers weren’t normally looking at the yeast to impart flavor into Scotch whisky. The beverage industry uses a particular species of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, because of its neutral flavor and its efficiency in turning sugars into alcohol. But there are many different strains of this yeast species, and scotch makers have more or less settled on one particular strain for their distilling needs.

In terms of the base ingredients, it is the barley and the water that seem to get scotch makers excited about their craft. There is some debate between makers of scotch and makers of bourbon as to the merits of experimenting with yeast to impact the flavor, but in Scotland, they don’t tend to mess around with the yeast.

Well, Dr. Bill Lumsden, director of whisky creation, distilling & whisky stocks at Glenmorangie, went and messed around with the yeast.

“Yeast’s influence on taste has been overlooked for years, but it’s an area ripe for exploration,” he explained in the press release I received announcing Glenmorangie Allta. According to that announcement, this expression began in response to an urban legend of sorts: renowned whisky writer Michael Jackson reportedly told Dr. Lumsden about a “house yeast” Glenmorangie was said to have possessed far before Saccharomyces cerevisiae became the standard yeast for scotch makers.

Coincidentally or not, Dr. Lumsden somehow found a then-undiscovered species of yeast growing wild in the barley fields near the distillery. He used his PhD in — no joke — yeast physiology to determine it could be used to make whisky, and here we are. That species of yeast, for whatever it’s worth, is called Saccharomyces diaemath. This story kind of checks out, in that “Saccharomyces diaemath” had never appeared once on the internet, ever, according to a simple Google search, until the aforementioned press release describing this tale was distributed last week.

While I won’t pretend to be able to isolate a yeast’s effect on a drink’s flavor, this is obviously an interesting concept. And, ultimately, Glenmorangie Allta stands on its own as a quality scotch, with or without the narrative behind its creation.

The Whisky
Color: Yellow gold.

Nose: Bread dough, nectar, rose petal. A bit of dates.

Flavor: I recognize the 10-year Glenmorangie as having citric, floral flavor notes in front of a bit of smoke and a bit of minerality, and the Allta expression amps that up with a unique breadiness and savoriness.

The orange flavor notes of the classic 10 year old become notes of orange scone and creamsicle. The floral notes pivot to clover honey. All of this is well-balanced and airy.

Finish: It’s a long finish with notes of wet moss and mint, and a bit of smoke.

The Price
Glenmorangie Allta, which is bottled at 51.2% ABV and non chill-filtered, is priced at $99.