Glenallachie 8 Years Old AtB Darkness (Atom Brands)

An 8 year old GlenAllachie from Atom Brands, at 47.1%. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt from the hills above Aberlour, below Ben Rinnes. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes. It was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the firm that supplied whisky to Shackleton's 1907 expedition.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for the rich, sherried make GlenAllachie is known for. It was matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood working deep into the malt. 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. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. 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 47.1% it is full and rich. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.