Glenallachie 9 Years Old 2014 Cask #9900240 (Murray McDavid)

A GlenAllachie of a 9 year old chosen by Murray McDavid, distilled in 2014, from cask 9900240, at 57.9%, one of 315 bottles. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. 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 built for the 1960s blend boom, its make long destined for the blender's vat.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, for a full make built to take active wood. It was matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood working deep into the malt. In these extractive early years the oak gives vanillin as vanilla and lactones as coconut over orchard fruit and a dark sugar. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At 57.9%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.