Glenallachie 12 Years Old 2008 Cask #30900793 (Duncan Taylor)

This GlenAllachie comes from Duncan Taylor, the cask house from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, a 12 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 30900793, at 55.2%, one of 348 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt from the hills above Aberlour, below Ben Rinnes. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for a thick, ester rich spirit the casks then deepen. 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. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At a hearty 55.2% it carries real weight. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.