Glenallachie 11 Years Old (Pedro Ximenez Cask)

This official GlenAllachie, an 11 year old, at 48%, 3000 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. 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, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was matured in a Pedro Ximenez cask, the wood working deep into the malt. 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. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At 48%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is GlenAllachie's deep, fruity Speyside style.