Glenallachie 16 Years Old 2008 Cask #900874 (Bottle Dreams)

A GlenAllachie of a 16 year old chosen by Bottle Dreams, distilled in 2008, from cask 900874, at 59.7%. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. Its stills were doubled from two to four within months of opening, the lyne arms angled down for a fuller spirit. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was fully matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make.

At its natural 59.7% it is rich and chewy. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.