Glenallachie Summer Fruits (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd bottled this GlenAllachie, from cask 9602, at 55%, one of 360 bottles. GlenAllachie is a Speyside single malt from the hills above Aberlour, below Ben Rinnes. Under Walker it turned to single malt, with heavy maturation in sherry and wine casks. It was mothballed in 1985 and reopened in 1989, a modern distillery by Speyside standards.

Distilled in copper pot stills, giving a full bodied Speyside spirit. It was matured in a Port cask, the wood working deep into the malt. With no age statement, vanillin reads as vanilla and oak lactones as coconut over the rich, fruity spirit. Active first fill wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. Maturation runs slow and even in the on site dunnage warehouses at Aberlour. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

At its natural 55% it is rich and chewy. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, with red berry, plum and a dry spice from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a rich Speyside malt of dried fruit and chocolate.