Glenallachie 15 Years Old 2008 Cask #900415 (A.D. Rattray)

Chosen by A.D. Rattray, the Morrison family bottler with its shop in the old village school at Kirkoswald on the Ayrshire coast, this a 15 year old GlenAllachie, distilled in 2008, from cask 900415, at 64.5%, one of 627 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, founded in 1967 below Ben Rinnes near Aberlour. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, for a full make built to take active wood. Maturation came in an Oloroso cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At a hearty 64.5% it carries real weight. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.