Billy Walker creates Lum Reek 10YO blended malt

The GlenAllachie Distillers Company has expanded its blended malt Scotch brand Lum Reek with the launch of a 10-year-old whisky.

The Lum Reek brand sits under the company’s MacNair’s Boutique House of Spirits, which was rebranded in July 2021.

The Speyside distiller also revealed a redesign for Lum Reek, as well as a new rum range, the latter of which marked master blender Billy Walker’s first foray outside of whisky.

Walker has now combined single malt whiskies from Speyside and Islay to create a 10-year-old cask strength Lum Reek bottling. The resulting liquid offers a ‘subtly smoky yet sweet’ flavour profile.

The whiskies were then blended together with GlenAllachie single malt. The liquid was then reracked into Sherry casks, wine barriques and virgin oak casks for secondary maturation.

Once the final cask was selected by Walker, the 10-year-old whisky was bottled at a natural cask strength of 55.4% ABV.

Walker said: “Without a doubt, the most fulfilling element of my role is blending and developing new recipes which enhance the taste experience of individual whiskies. MacNair’s Lum Reek allows me to think outside of the box and blend such a wide variety of single malts from across Scotland to achieve the profile I am looking for.

“Whilst I delight in blending GlenAllachie expressions, introducing other single malts into the mix is incredibly interesting and creates something really magical.

“I was keen to explore this concept as a blended malt, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. Expect an indulgent amalgamation of dark chocolate fondant, vanilla pods, stem ginger and citrus tones alongside puffs of peat smoke – delicious.”

MacNair’s Lum Reek 10-year-old Cask Strength Batch 1 is available to buy through global specialist retailers for RRP £59.99 (US$81.40).