Meikle Tòir (pronounced mee-kuhl tor) is a new range of 5 year old peated Speyside single malts produced at Glenallachie Distillery by master distiller Billy Walker. Walker began producing peated spirit at Glenallachie in 2018, the first time this had been attempted since the distillery was founded in 1967. Meikle Tòir means “the big pursuit,” and in his quest of peated perfection, Walker uses mainland peat, a lengthy fermentation of 160 hours, and a meticulous selection of high-quality casks to create this sweet, smoky style. The malt in each small batch expression was peated to 35 phenol parts per million (ppm), except The Turbo 2023 Edition, which is the spirit from the “heart of the heart” of the distillate, and was made using malt peated to 71 ppm.
93 points - Meikle Tòir The Sherry One 5 year old, 48%, $75
Chocolate brownie, smoked orange disc, ground cumin, mild smoked paprika, gentle peat smoke, and a dusting of cocoa on the nose of this gem of a whisky matured in Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry puncheons. On the palate, dark chocolate slides in with smoke, blackberry, burnt sugar, treacle, espresso, maple-coated pecans, and sizzling spices. Melted chocolate, peat smoke, plum skins, and baked orange on the finish.
92 points - Meikle Tòir The Chinquapin One 5 year old, 48%, $75
Comforting smoke envelops the nose, with early notes of creosote, wooden fish boxes, and iodine, followed by vanilla sponge, honey, wood spice, toasted oak, crystallized ginger, and a light dusting of cinnamon. The palate brings dried cherry, milk chocolate, burnt sugar, toasted flaked almonds, espresso, aniseed balls, clove, and forest honey, with a lengthy finish of granola and roasted spices.
92 points - Meikle Tòir The Turbo 2023 Edition 5 year old, 50%, $75
Delicious, punchy, and complex, The Turbo is made from malt peated to 71 ppm, and the spirit is cut from the still when the vapors have the highest phenol content. The nose is redolent of crème caramel, thick smoke, candied chestnut, fruit teas, worn leather, forest honey, and smoked orange peel. Baked orange, cough syrup, and currants reach the taste buds with blooms of peat smoke, Horlicks, milk chocolate, roasted spices, and vanilla latte.
91 points - Meikle Tòir The Original 5 year old, 50%, $75
Showing vigorous peat smoke up front, this is pleasantly nutty on the nose, with well-roasted spices, iodine, ozone, and butterscotch sauce. Not too sweet on the tongue; there are initial flavors of melon, pear, spiced apple, honey, chocolate brownie, and cinnamon, which are torn asunder by the dominant flavor of fresh ginger root, accompanied by vegetal notes and fresh oak, leaving a lingering finish of peat smoke and chocolate brownie.
