Glenallachie Single Cask 11 Years Old 2009 (Cask 3715)

A distillery release of GlenAllachie, an 11 year old, from 2009, cask 3715, at 59.1%, 295 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, long a blending malt and now a sherry led name in its own right. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time. Its stills were doubled from two to four within months of opening, the lyne arms angled down for a fuller spirit.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, giving a full bodied Speyside spirit. Maturation came in a Sauternes cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At 59.1%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with honeyed apricot and a candied citrus from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.