Glenallachie 10 Years Old Cask #Batch 11

A distillery release of GlenAllachie, a 10 year old, cask Batch 11, at 59.4%. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. Its stills were doubled from two to four within months of opening, the lyne arms angled down for a fuller spirit.

Taken gently through wash and spirit stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. A Pedro Ximenez cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At 59.4%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is the sherry led malt of Aberlour.