Glenallachie Single Cask for UK – Batch 1 12 Years Old 2006 (Cask 27979)

A 12 year old GlenAllachie, a distillery bottling, from 2006, cask 27979, at 62.4%, 203 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a rich, sherried Speyside malt from Aberlour, built on full bodied spirit and active casks. 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 founded in 1967, designed by the architect William Delme Evans, his fourth distillery after Jura and Tullibardine.

It was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, oak lactones lending a creamy vanilla. By the integrating teens the raw notes fade and esters build, the rich spirit growing rounder and darker. Maturation runs slow and even in the on site dunnage warehouses at Aberlour. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt.

At 62.4%, undiluted, it is dark and full. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, lifted by a sweet oak. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.