Glenallachie Single Cask for UK – Batch 1 12 Years Old 2006 (Cask 896)

GlenAllachie from the distillery, a 12 year old, from 2006, cask 896, at 61.7%, 282 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, founded in 1967 below Ben Rinnes near Aberlour. Its stills were doubled from two to four within months of opening, the lyne arms angled down for a fuller spirit. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour.

Drawn from a thick, full bodied wash, for a thick, ester rich spirit the casks then deepen. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At its natural 61.7% it is rich and chewy. Date, fig and a warm cinnamon, lifted by a sweet oak. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and chocolate.