Glenallachie 13 Years Old (Red Wine Finish)

A distillery release of GlenAllachie, a 13 year old, at 48%, 7680 bottles in all. It is one of GlenAllachie's Wine Series bottlings. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards. It was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the firm that supplied whisky to Shackleton's 1907 expedition.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak and finished in a Red Wine cask, a layer of Red Wine over the bourbon vanilla. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. 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.

At a hearty 48% it carries real weight. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with red berry and a dry spice from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.