Glenallachie 12 Years Old 2011 Cask #3042509 (Duncan Taylor)

Chosen by Duncan Taylor, the cask house from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, this a 12 year old GlenAllachie, distilled in 2011, from cask 3042509, at 54.3%, one of 90 bottles. GlenAllachie is a rich, sherried Speyside malt from Aberlour, built on full bodied spirit and active casks. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes.

Distilled to a full, generous cut, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak gentle behind the spirit. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

Bottled at a cask strength 54.3%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, over a gentle, creamy oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.