Glenallachie Single Cask 15 Years Old 2007 (Cask 800184)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 15 year old, from 2007, cask 800184, at 58.3%, a festival bottling. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time. It was founded in 1967, designed by the architect William Delme Evans, his fourth distillery after Jura and Tullibardine.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, giving a full bodied Speyside spirit. An Oloroso cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At its natural 58.3% it is rich and chewy. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.