Glenallachie Single Cask for Europe – Batch 1 9 Years Old 2008 (Cask 471)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 9 year old, from 2008, cask 471, at 57.4%, 274 bottles in all. 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 founded in 1967, designed by the architect William Delme Evans, his fourth distillery after Jura and Tullibardine.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the fruit. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin and toasted sugars over the full, fruity spirit. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make.

At its natural 57.4% it is rich and chewy. A rich, sherried sweetness, lifted by a sweet oak. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real richness.