Many scottish distilleries take the name of the town that they are built on. Some, however, are influenced by the surrounding topography.  The Craigellachie distillery, built in 1891 is a bit of both, meaning “rocky hills” in gaelic, it takes the name of its village, sitting  proudly on ‘craggy rock,’ also commonly called the ‘rock of Craigellachie’,  which overlooks the river spey.   

Topic for this month’s discussion is their 13 YO expression, which was introduced in 2014.  The spirit is matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks. Interestingly, half of the contents are finished in first-fill Sherry casks with the rest in first-fill Bourbon. This one also strays away from chill filtration and artificial colouring!

And there’s more straying away!! The distillery goes against the stereotypical production approach with the distillery subjecting the mash to a reduced fermentation time of around 56 hours, allowing for greater sulphur influenced notes to remain in the resulting wash. This, combined with the use of traditional wormtube condensers, impairing interaction with copper, gives the resultant whisky once again a lot more sulphur content and hence a more meatier and fuller distillate. 

ABV : 46%

Eye : Old Gold | Non Chill Filtered | Natural Colour

Nose : Sweet vanilla, with a mist of brine, some sweet corn and char. With time, we get cantaloupe and floral nuances, interleaved with caramel, sundried tomatoes, hints of peat, tobacco, and white pepper.

Taste : Honey and caramel, with a warm whisper of brine, cream, and tropical influences emanatung from honeydew, banana fritters and a passion fruit infused custard. Some smoke and wood is evident, finally tapering off into a subtle sweetness.

Finish : Medium | Vanilla with charred tropical notes, a mild spice and a light sweetness.

The Craigellaiche 13 was somewhat surprising, as at first glance, it didn’t seem to be too interesting. But giving time and being patient, it became apparant that this 13 YO spirit had layers of flavours that began to reveal itself gradually. Good mouth feel, lovely body, surely there was depth and good complexity, but the flavours weren’t bold enough to push through the largely caramel and tropical flavours that grabbed the palate.

At AUD 100 (on offer), it is a good sipper that will please most. I do feel there were areas the whisky could have excelled, but it took a more introverted stand. Do I like it, yes, very much! Did I love it, not there yet! But it was a welcome surprise….

Slainte!