Craigellachie 11 Years Old 2010 Cask #10028 (BB&R)

An 11 year old Craigellachie from the London merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, distilled in 2010, from cask 10028, bottled at 60.6%, one of 550 bottles. Craigellachie, where the Fiddich meets the Spey, is the meaty backbone of the White Horse blend. It sits at the village of Craigellachie, where the River Fiddich joins the Spey by Telford's iron bridge.

It was drawn off pot stills cooled by traditional worm tubs, for an oily, robust make that turns tropical with age. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness to the heavy, meaty malt. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the malt, the worm tub weight softening to tropical fruit. The meaty, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while keeping its robust, worm tub weight. The oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and tropical fruit over a meaty malt.

At 60.6%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Mango, wax and a meaty depth, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is heavy and oily, the fruit carried on a meaty body. The finish runs meaty, waxy and warm. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real character.