Craigellachie 10 Years Old 1996 Cask #3922 (Blackadder)

From the bottler Blackadder, a 10 year old Craigellachie, distilled in 1996, from cask 3922, bottled at 58.6%, one of 336 bottles. Craigellachie was built in 1891 and is one of the few distilleries still using worm tubs. The distillery was founded in 1891 by a group led by Peter Mackie, the man behind the White Horse blend.

It was distilled in copper stills with worm tub condensers on Blue Hill spring water, for a bold, meaty Speyside spirit. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and pineapple over the robust spirit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper, tropical fruit over the meaty malt. Long ageing turns the young, sulphurous spirit towards mango, wax and a warm spice. A big sherry cask suits the muscular spirit, dried fruit meeting the meaty weight. It was rebuilt in 1965, but kept its worm tubs where most distilleries dropped them.

At a hearty 58.6% it carries real weight. A muscular, waxy sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run meaty malt, tropical fruit and a waxy oil. The finish is long, oily and savoury. This is an oily, tropical Speyside single malt.