Allt-a-Bhainne 22 Years Old 2000 (Signatory Cask Strength Collection)

Distilled in 2000 and bottled by Signatory Vintage in 2022 under the Cask Strength Collection imprint, this is a 22 Years Old Allt-a-Bhainne at 51.6% ABV from Oloroso sherry maturation. The release is one of 447 bottles. The continuing run of 2000 vintage Oloroso releases from Signatory across successive bottling years gives buyers an unusual chance to track cask development in two year increments.

Allt-a-Bhainne ferments malted barley for 48 to 50 hours on Mauri liquid yeast in closed stainless steel washbacks, then double distills through two copper wash stills and two copper spirit stills with steam heating and shell and tube condensers. The short Speyside ferment produces a clean malt forward spirit built as a blend filler for Chivas Regal, Passport and 100 Pipers. New make is reduced with Rowantree Burn water and tankered to Keith for cask filling and maturation, since the distillery holds no warehousing on site.

Oloroso sherry maturation drives the spirit through rancio chemistry, where slow polyphenol and aldehyde oxidation during prior sherry contact generates the dried fruit, leathery and nutty register typical of long sherry contact. Against the lighter Allt-a-Bhainne distillate the sherry contribution leads. The slight strength drop from the earlier 20 and 21 Years Old releases at 52.4 to 52.6% suggests a steady evaporation trajectory in the Keith warehouses across the extended maturation period.