Craigellachie 7 Years Old 2009 Cask #DL 11285 (Provenance)

A 7 year old Craigellachie from the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, distilled in 2009, from cask DL 11285, bottled at 57.7%, one of 157 bottles. Craigellachie was built in 1891 and is one of the few distilleries still using worm tubs. Most of its make still goes to blending, a robust filler prized for its weight.

It was drawn off pot stills cooled by traditional worm tubs, giving the heavy, oily spirit at its heart. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and pineapple over the robust spirit. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the meaty spirit, the worm tub character still struck match sharp. Years in oak round the spirit, the worm tub weight turning to pineapple and wax. A big sherry cask suits the muscular spirit, dried fruit meeting the meaty weight. With age the meaty young spirit turns to pineapple, mango and a waxy depth.

At its natural 57.7% it is concentrated. A muscular, waxy sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft tropical fruit and a waxy malt sit behind the cask. Tropical fruit, malt and a savoury oak see out the finish. This is a meaty, tropical Speyside single malt.