Glenallachie 12 Years Old 2008 Cask #3032429 (Duncan Taylor)

This GlenAllachie was bottled by Duncan Taylor, a 12 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 3032429, at 55.5%, one of 83 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, revived in 2017 by the team of Billy Walker. It was founded in 1967, designed by the architect William Delme Evans, his fourth distillery after Jura and Tullibardine. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, giving a full bodied Speyside spirit. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At 55.5%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.