Glenallachie 7 Years Old 2007 Cask #900168 (A.D. Rattray)

A.D. Rattray, the Morrison family bottler with its shop in the old village school at Kirkoswald on the Ayrshire coast, bottled this GlenAllachie, distilled in 2007, from cask 900168, at 50%, one of 350 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt from the hills above Aberlour, below Ben Rinnes. It was founded in 1967, designed by the architect William Delme Evans, his fourth distillery after Jura and Tullibardine.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, for a thick, ester rich spirit the casks then deepen. An Oloroso cask held it, drawing the rich spirit on over the years. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit rich, fruity and full. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At a hearty 50% it carries real weight. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.