Glenallachie Single Cask 15 Years Old 2006 (Cask 806906)

A 15 year old GlenAllachie, a distillery bottling, from 2006, cask 806906, at 59.8%, 234 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 matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour. Under Walker it turned to single malt, with heavy maturation in sherry and wine casks.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, for a full make built to take active wood. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At a natural 59.8% it is full and rich. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, over a gentle, creamy oak. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. A deep finish ends on dried fruit and a dark chocolate. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.