One of the three official Craigellachie bottlings released in 2014, the distillery's 13-year-old single malt Scotch whisky handsomely shows off the bold, robust character of the distillery's output. Think heaps of dynamic fruit notes with a distinctive current of smoke running through the middle. Single malt Craigellachie wasn't seen much outside of indie bottlings for a long time, and we don't take for granted how lovely it is to see Speysider thrive.
You can read more about Craigellachie on the Master of Malt blog.
Apple orchards in bloom, slightly meaty, burnt popcorn, treacle tart.
Oily malt arrives first, followed by BBQ pineapple and summer berries. Pine nuts and almonds.
A very soft hint of sulphur hides behind biscuit and apple notes.
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Pineapple cube sweets in a waxy paper bag from the corner shop. Ting Jamaican fizzy drink. Cheap Vanilla soft scoop ice cream.
Intense nose and mouth smoke, many fruits. Pleasant palate burning, intense long finish. Particular. Swells by adding water.
Délicieux! The Craigellachie 13 ans. Complex, not very emphatic in any particular aspect, but very intriguing. Not dumbed down at all for the mass market. A well put together and appropriately matured single malt. I recommend you give it a try, and I myself am looking very much forward to trying the older versions. À ta santé! - MxG, Belgium.
Smoked BBQ, complex fruit, nice burn, long and amazing finish! More highland than a Speyside, this will be my new fave after Talisker 10 and Bunnahabhain. I really like the presentation, the bottle and label design is just fabulous!
Honey caramel, like a full young brandy. A delicate presence of apples and a hint of pears, which comes out more with water. Good general mouthfeel, though viscosity is lower than expected. Sulfur, sulfur-smoke. Prominently. Heavy, gristy, but not at all harsh maltiness. They say this has a meaty character to it, but I would say it is *bready*. Specifically, I get bread *sticks*. Kind you get in restaurants. Touch of olive oil. Tiny bit of garlic. Little bit spirity, I will say, even with water added. Takes one teaspoon just fine, but not much more than that. Careful does it. This being my first Speysider, I would compare it to the Arran 14 and say that they are fairly similar when it comes to their rich Armagnac-like qualities, the C13 being the lighter and more honeyed of the two: and where Arran gives you its distinct nettle-like oakiness, Craigellachie gives you the sulfur. Medium, creamy toffee development. Long sulfuric bread stick finish. Needs aeration, plenty of time in the glass. Compacts down soon after opening, similar to the Glengoyne 10, and needs a couple of days to come back up. Would not hurt to decant it. All in all, a very very interesting dram. The fruit is a little less pronounced than I'd like it to be, and it *is* slightly spirity, but the overall presentation and uniqueness of this dram takes it up to a 5/5 for me. Will revisit review if shows improvement further down the bottle. Colors are flying, lads. (Originally posted on March 29, 2018.)
