Glenallachie Single Cask 14 Years Old 2009 (Cask 5880)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 14 year old, from 2009, cask 5880, at 56.7%, 674 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, long a blending malt and now a sherry led name in its own right. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit.

The spirit was distilled to a full, generous cut, for a full make built to take active wood. Maturation came in a Pedro Ximenez cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At its natural 56.7% it is rich and chewy. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.