Glenallachie Single Cask 11 Years Old 2012 (Cask 801629)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, an 11 year old, from 2012, cask 801629, at 58.3%, 698 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, founded in 1967 below Ben Rinnes near Aberlour. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

Drawn from a thick, full bodied wash, for a thick, ester rich spirit the casks then deepen. It was fully matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make.

Bottled at a cask strength 58.3%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.