Glenallachie Single Cask 14 Years Old 2005

This official GlenAllachie, a 14 year old, from 2005, cask 4561, at 57.7%, 686 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, revived in 2017 by the team of Billy Walker. Under Walker it turned to single malt, with heavy maturation in sherry and wine casks. It was founded in 1967, designed by the architect William Delme Evans, his fourth distillery after Jura and Tullibardine. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour.

Distilled to a full, generous cut, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. An Oloroso cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.7%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.