Glenallachie Meikle Tòir 5 Years Old (Oloroso Cask)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 5 year old, at 50%, 2500 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, its Meikle Toir peated range a rare Speyside smoke. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time. It was built by Mackinlay McPherson, the firm that supplied whisky to Shackleton's 1907 expedition. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit.

Distilled to a full, smoky cut, giving a full bodied, smoky Speyside spirit. Maturation came in an Oloroso cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and lactones a coconut, the spirit rich, smoky and full. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. 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. Soft smoke, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full, the smoke wrapped round dark fruit. A long finish carries peat, chocolate and a treacle. This is a peated Speyside malt of real standing.