Glenallachie 10 Years Old 2014 Cask #9900180 (Best Dram)

This GlenAllachie was bottled by Best Dram, a 10 year old, distilled in 2014, from cask 9900180, at 57.8%, one of 302 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt known for its heavy sherry and wine cask maturation. It was bought in 2017 by Billy Walker and two partners, fresh from selling BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit.

Run slowly off the spirit still, for a thick, ester rich spirit the casks then deepen. Maturation came in a Madeira cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. Maturation runs slow and even in the on site dunnage warehouses at Aberlour. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At a natural 57.8% it is full and rich. Fig, walnut and a bittersweet chocolate, with a nutty, raisined sweetness from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.