Glenallachie Cuvée Cask Finish 12 Years Old 2009 (Oloroso Finish, Germany)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 12 year old, from 2009, at 56.1%, 3000 bottles in all. This is part of the Cuvee Cask Finish. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

The spirit was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak and finished in a run of casks led by Oloroso, layered over the bourbon vanilla. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Maturation runs slow and even in the on site dunnage warehouses at Aberlour.

At its natural 56.1% it is rich and chewy. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.