Glenallachie 30 Years Old Cask #Batch 2

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 30 year old, cask Batch 2, at 50.8%, 2000 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. Under Walker it turned to single malt, with heavy maturation in sherry and wine casks.

Distilled to a full, generous cut, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the fruit. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending maple and dried fig as beeswax and old leather linger. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At its natural 50.8% it is rich and chewy. A deep, dark sweetness, over a gentle, creamy oak. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.