Glenallachie Single Cask #570 14 Years Old 2008 (Pedro Ximenez)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 14 year old, from 2008, cask 570, at 54.4%, a festival bottling. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, founded in 1967 below Ben Rinnes near Aberlour. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. It was built for the 1960s blend boom, its make long destined for the blender's vat. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

It was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was fully matured in a Pedro Ximenez cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At 54.4%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a deep, sherried Speyside single malt.