Glenallachie Handfilled At The Distillery 12 Years Old 2012

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 12 year old, from 2012, cask 802092, at 62%. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, founded in 1967 below Ben Rinnes near Aberlour. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards. It was bought in 2017 by Billy Walker and two partners, fresh from selling BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh.

The spirit was distilled to a full, generous cut, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was fully matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At 62%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.