Glenallachie Single Cask 16 Years Old 2006

This official GlenAllachie, a 16 year old, from 2006, cask 4507, at 58.7%, 699 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, the home distillery of master distiller Billy Walker. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. Its water is the Lochnagar Burn, drawn down from the slopes of Ben Rinnes.

It was run slowly off the spirit still, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in an Oloroso cask, layered over the full GlenAllachie make. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Maturation runs slow and even in the on site dunnage warehouses at Aberlour. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At its natural 58.7% it is rich and chewy. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.