Glenallachie 14 Years Old 2008 Cask #30900801 (Duncan Taylor)

Chosen by Duncan Taylor, the cask house from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, this a 14 year old GlenAllachie, distilled in 2008, from cask 30900801, at 54.5%, one of 311 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt known for its heavy sherry and wine cask maturation. It was bought in 2017 by Billy Walker and two partners, fresh from selling BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour.

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 wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At 54.5%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is the sherry led malt of Aberlour.