Craigellachie 14 Years Old 2008 Cask #7535829 (Duncan Taylor)

From the Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor, a 14 year old Craigellachie, distilled in 2008, from cask 7535829, bottled at 54.2%, one of 90 bottles. Craigellachie was founded in 1891 by a consortium led by Peter Mackie of White Horse fame. Most of its make still goes to blending, a robust filler prized for its weight.

It was worked through stills and worm tubs for a muscular, oily spirit, for the muscular, meaty make Craigellachie is known for. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the meaty, oily malt. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the robust body turning fruitier. The heavy, oily make is prized by blenders for the backbone it gives White Horse. The robust make rewards long ageing, the meatiness giving way to tropical fruit. It was rebuilt in 1965, but kept its worm tubs where most distilleries dropped them.

At a hearty 54.2% it carries real weight. Mango, wax and a meaty depth, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dried fruit and a savoury, oily depth give it weight. A long, oily finish carries a tropical depth. This is a meaty, tropical Speyside single malt.