Glenallachie 9 Years Old 2014 Cask #9900214 (Best Dram)

Best Dram bottled this GlenAllachie, a 9 year old, distilled in 2014, from cask 9900214, at 58.6%, one of 315 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt known for its heavy sherry and wine cask maturation. It was built for the 1960s blend boom, its make long destined for the blender's vat. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was fully matured in a Pedro Ximenez cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin and toasted sugars over the full, fruity spirit. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At a hearty 58.6% it carries real weight. A deep, dark sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.