Glenallachie 36 Years Old 1973 Cask #1873 (Adelphi)

Adelphi, the Highland bottler at Ardnamurchan, bottled this GlenAllachie, distilled in 1973, from cask 1873, at 48.1%, one of 201 bottles. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. It was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the firm that supplied whisky to Shackleton's 1907 expedition. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

It was drawn from a thick, full bodied wash, giving a full bodied Speyside spirit. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. Ethereal and fragile, the decades draw it to a resinous, waxy depth of dried fruit, treacle and old oak. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At a natural 48.1% it is full and rich. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.