Glenallachie Single Cask 15 Years Old 2006 (Cask 868)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 15 year old, from 2006, cask 868, at 60.7%, 719 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt from the hills above Aberlour, below Ben Rinnes. 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. It was designed almost entirely gravity fed, an efficient plant for its time.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in a Tawny Port cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At its natural 60.7% it is rich and chewy. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with a nutty, raisined red fruit from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and chocolate.