Glenallachie Single Cask 15 Years Old 2007 (Cask 6683)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 15 year old, from 2007, cask 6683, at 57.2%, 716 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes.

It was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, for a full make built to take active wood. Maturation came in a Pedro Ximenez 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 wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At 57.2%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A rich, sherried sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish runs long, full and warming. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.