Glenallachie 22 Years Old 1992 (Small Batch)

A 22 year old GlenAllachie from Cadenhead, distilled in 1992, at 48%, one of 492 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. It was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the firm that supplied whisky to Shackleton's 1907 expedition. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, for a full make built to take active wood. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. In the oxidative, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to dried fruit, dark chocolate and a waxy, resinous depth. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

Bottled at a cask strength 48%, it is deep and concentrated. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, over a gentle, creamy oak. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and chocolate.