Glenallachie Single Cask 16 Years Old 2004

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 16 year old, from 2004, cask 4457, at 56.4%, a festival bottling. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt from the hills above Aberlour, below Ben Rinnes. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, for the rich, sherried make GlenAllachie is known for. It was fully matured in a Pedro Ximenez cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. 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. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At its natural 56.4% it is rich and chewy. A rich, sherried sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.