Glenallachie Single Cask 12 Years Old 2008 (Cask 6915)

This official GlenAllachie, a 12 year old, from 2008, cask 6915, at 58.6%, 258 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. It was built for the 1960s blend boom, its make long destined for the blender's vat. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit.

It was distilled to a full, generous cut, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At its natural 58.6% it is rich and chewy. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.