Glenallachie Single Cask for UK – Batch 1 28 Years Old 1989

A 28 year old GlenAllachie, a distillery bottling, from 1989, cask 101040, at 54.7%, 121 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a deep, dark Speyside malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. It runs unusually long fermentations, up to a hundred and sixty hours, for a thick, ester rich and fruity spirit. It was bought in 2017 by Billy Walker and two partners, fresh from selling BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. In the oxidative, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to dried fruit, dark chocolate and a waxy, resinous depth. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At its natural 54.7% it is rich and chewy. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, over a gentle, creamy oak. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a dark, fruity Speyside single malt.