Glenallachie 11 Years Old 2012 Cask Series 023 (North Star)

North Star Spirits bottled this GlenAllachie, an 11 year old, distilled in 2012, at 56.5%, one of 662 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. Under Walker it turned to single malt, with heavy maturation in sherry and wine casks. It was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the firm that supplied whisky to Shackleton's 1907 expedition.

Distilled to a full, generous cut, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. An Oloroso 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 wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At its natural 56.5% it is rich and chewy. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is the sherry led malt of Aberlour.