Glenallachie Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2018 12 Years Old 2006

A 12 year old GlenAllachie, a distillery bottling, from 2006, cask 897, at 58.9%, 1028 bottles in all. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt, long a blending malt and now a sherry led name in its own right. It matures its spirit in sixteen dunnage warehouses on the distillery site at Aberlour.

Drawn from a thick, full bodied wash, for the rich, sherried make GlenAllachie is known for. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the American oak lending vanilla and a light honey. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich GlenAllachie make. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate.

At its natural 58.9% it is rich and chewy. A deep, dark sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run dried fruit, dark sugar and a warm spice. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a rich, sherried Speyside single malt.