GlenAllachie Distillery Visit

Last October I returned once more to run the Dramathon 10K. This time there were no storm warnings, so a weight lifted off my shoulders and I could finally run again along the road beside the River Spey.

Visiting a whisky distillery is a must whenever I go to Scotland. With limited time I could only visit one—ideally nearby and reachable by public transport—but the buses are so infrequent that careful planning was essential: which bus to take, the distillery tour time, and the return-bus schedule.

That day I also had to pick up my race pack in Dufftown, so every minute counted.

I took the No. 36 bus from Elgin toward Dufftown, got off at Aberlour, then walked two miles—about 30 minutes—to reach the only distillery I would tour on this trip: GlenAllachie.

Compared with many distilleries that boast a century or more of history, GlenAllachie is relatively young. Founded in 1967, it briefly closed in the 1980s and was bought in 2017 by renowned whisky maker Billy Walker, who gave the distillery a complete makeover as it entered its 50th year.

Four years ago their 10‑year‑old Cask Strength Batch 4 put them on the map, and their core 12‑year‑old recently won World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards, attracting much attention.

Since Billy Walker took over, he not only brought awards but also sharply reduced production to improve quality. With four stills, the distillery now produces roughly one million liters a year. Nestled at the foot of Ben Rinnes, its water source is the mountain streams—truly a place of clear hills and pure water. After more than a hundred hours of fermentation and subsequent distillation, the spirit goes into casks; on the day I visited I saw many French wine-region barrels, including Margaux. It’s now common for many whisky makers to use various wine casks, so this felt natural.

Before the tour I had a dram of the distillery‑exclusive 17‑year‑old in the on-site bar. Over the course of the visit I tasted six drams in total, and even though I had a race the next day, I set all concerns aside.

The tasting included four samples: starting with the entry‑level 12‑year finished in Sauternes casks, followed by a 7‑year finished in Hungarian wine casks—both leaning toward sweet, aromatic styles—then two hand‑fill releases from the distillery, plus an extra pour from the distillery manager. Meikle Toir is another line from the distillery: Billy Walker personally likes peated whisky but didn’t want that smoky profile to be presented under the GlenAllachie name, hence the separate label.

Before leaving I bought a PX‑cask hand‑fill from the distillery shop. Nearly a year later I still haven’t opened it; perhaps I’ll wait for the right moment and the right people to share the joy I felt in Scotland.

The return walk was another two miles through pastoral fields, the wind bending the hardy grasses; I kept looking ahead to the road before me.

I can condense this into a punchy social caption or a polished travel‑blog piece—reply “caption” or “blog” to choose.

上年十月，再一次因為參加Dramathon 10K比賽而來，這次沒有風暴警告，終於放下心頭大石，得以再次在River Spey旁邊的路上奔馳。

參觀威士忌酒廠，是每一次到訪蘇格蘭必然要做的事，時間有限，只能去一間，當然是在區內，而且是可以乘坐公共交通工具前往的酒廠，但巴士的班次實在太疏落，所以出發之前，計劃要周詳，坐那一班巴士，參加酒廠tour的時間，還有回程的巴士時間。

當日我還要去到Dufftown拿選手包，所以每一分一秒也很珍貴。

從Elgin坐36號開往Dufftown巴士，在Aberlour下車，仍需要步行兩哩路，需時30分鐘，來到我這次旅程，唯一一間參觀的酒廠 - Glenallachie。

與其它坐擁百多年歷史的酒廠相比，Glenallachie相對較為年青，1967年創立，於80年代曾經關閉一段短時間，去到2017年，被著名威士忌釀酒大師Billy Walker買入，從此為這個當時踏入50周年的酒廠改頭換面。

四年前它們已著10yo Cask Strength Batch 4登頂，開始受到不少人注視，它們的基本款12yo，在今年World Whiskies Awards，拿下World's Best Single Malt的佳績。

Billy Walker入主之後，除了為酒廠帶來獎項之外，更將生產量大幅減低，務求提高出品的質素，酒廠的四個蒸餾器，現時年產大約100萬公升左右，身處Ben Rinnes的山腳，釀製威士忌的水源，當然是沿用從山上河流的水，名符其實的山明水秀，經過百多小時發酵，蒸餾之後入桶，當日所見不乏法國名區的葡萄酒桶，像Margaux之類，現時不少威士忌廠都沿用不同類型的葡萄酒桶，其實也見怪不怪。

連同入場之前，在酒廠的酒吧喝了一杯酒廠限定的17yo，這個旅程，總共喝了六杯，就算第二日要比賽，一切也拋諸腦後。

試酒環節包四杯，由入門的12yo蘇玳桶開始，接連是7yo匈牙利酒桶，兩款的風格偏向甜美芳香，最後是兩款酒廠handfill版本，與及酒廠經理額外送多一杯，Meikle Toir是酒廠另一條線，因為Billy Walker本人喜歡泥煤威士忌，但不想將這種風味以GlenAllachie之名展現，所以有此一舉。

臨走之前，我在酒廠的精品店，斟了一瓶PX桶handfill回來，相隔接近一年的今日，仍未捨得打開，可能真的要等某些情合某些人，才會與我一起分享這份我在蘇格蘭感受過的喜悅。

回程又要行兩哩路，沿路是田園，風中下的勁草，我繼續仰望前路。

The best satay beef ho fun @ Pak Lok Teochew Restaurant (Dai Siu branch)

The long-established Teochew restaurant Pak Lok Teochew Restaurant on Hysan Avenue announced its closure last September. Just as everyone was lamenting the loss of another old establishment, three months later it rose from the ashes: descendants of the founder took over and relaunched it under the name 'Dai Siu'.

A month ago friends arranged a dinner there, joined by veteran journalist An Gor, writer He Gu, singer Long Xiaojun, five of us in total, to revisit the Teochew cuisine. Since we'd all been at the restaurant at different times before, I had been there a bit longer—ten years ago at a sake gathering I had their satay beef ho fun and have never forgotten it.

After drinking gongfu tea, the platter was served: braised items and smoked items. The pork tendon, with its gluey, clingy texture, was irresistibly delicious; the sliced goose was tender and tasty, the rich, aromatic braising liquid clinging to the slices seemed to tell the restaurant's decades-long history—after all, the braise is the heart of a Teochew restaurant. The smoked eel was fatty and flavorful with a smoky aroma; even compared to French cuisine it wouldn't be outclassed.

The plump squab stuffed with glutinous rice became an exquisite ginger-rice pigeon: crisp exterior, meat tender and juicy, the glutinous rice had plenty of ginger and included lotus seeds, but it wasn't as heavy as eating Eight-Treasure Duck—relatively lighter. The salted lemon-steamed grouper was cut into portions and arranged with choy sum in an alternating pattern; the grouper had thick flesh and fresh flavor, the salted lemon added a hint of fragrance. The faintly visible Shao-style vegetable roll enclosed a very rich filling—shrimp, dried scallop, abalone pieces, etc.—both savory and sweet and juicy.

As I mentioned earlier, I can't forget their satay beef ho fun, and of course it was on the menu that night: a generous heap of beef ho fun, each rice noodle strip distinct and coated in thick satay sauce with crushed peanuts; the beef pieces were large, tender and smooth, perfectly integrated with the noodles—after a decade apart, its charm remains.

"Shortly after the meal, I couldn't wait and arranged a dinner with readers here; I'm tempted to organize one too—can it happen by the end of the year?"

希慎道的潮州菜老字號「百樂潮州酒家」，上年九月宣佈結業，當大家還在惋惜又少一間老號之際，三個月後浴火重生，由創辦人嫡系後人接手，以大少店之名再戰江湖。

月前友人相約飯局在此，連同傳媒界前輩安哥，作家何故，歌手龍小菌，一行五人，回味這裡的潮州菜，因為大家之前都在不同時間來過，我就比較耐一點，十年前的清酒局，吃過它們的沙嗲牛河，念念不忘。

飲過功夫茶之後，拼盤隨即奉上，有滷水有煙燻，豬腳筋的如膠如漆的美妙感覺是令人吃到欲罷不能，鵝片軟熟可口，沉實芳香醇厚的鹵水，附在鵝片身上，像道出這數十年來飯店的歷史，畢竟滷水是一間潮州菜館的心臟，煙鱔肥美之外，帶著陣陣煙燻香，就算拍埋法國菜的出品，絕不比下去。

飽滿的乳鴿，裡面釀了糯米，成為了如此精緻的薑米鴿，脆身的外表，肉質嫩中帶juicy，糯米很夠薑，還有蓮子在內，但沒有好像吃八寶鴨般膩，相對比較輕巧一點；鹹檸檬蒸龍躉，切成件狀，與菜心梅花間竹排列，龍躉肉厚，魚味鮮美，鹹檸檬的點綴，多了一份清香，若隱若現的紹菜卷，包住的餡料非常豐富，蝦仁，瑤柱，鮑魚粒等等，既鹹香又鮮甜多汁。

我在前段提到對這裡的沙嗲牛河念念不忘，這晚當然不缺席，大兜亂的牛河，每條分明的河粉，沾滿濃厚的沙嗲汁，連帶著花生粒，牛肉件頭大質感嫩滑，與河粉一氣呵成，闊別十載風采依然。

飯後不久，何故兄急不及待，在此安排了與讀者的飯局，我心思思又想搞埋一份，年尾能否成事？