Glenallachie Single Cask for Europe – Batch 1 12 Years Old 2006 (Cask 27977)

A distillery release of GlenAllachie, a 12 year old, from 2006, cask 27977, at 61.4%, 220 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, long a blending malt and now a sherry led name in its own right. It was built for the 1960s blend boom, its make long destined for the blender's vat. It was bought in 2017 by Billy Walker and two partners, fresh from selling BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, for a thick, ester rich spirit the casks then deepen. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

Bottled at a cask strength 61.4%, it is deep and concentrated. A deep, dark sweetness, over a gentle, creamy oak. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.