Craigellachie 16 Years Old 2007 100 Proof Exceptional Cask Edition #4 (Signatory)

A 16 year old Craigellachie from the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 2007, bottled at 57.1%. Craigellachie is an old fashioned Speyside malt, full bodied and sulphurous in youth, tropical with age. It was launched as a single malt brand in 2014, with a bare knuckle, old fashioned image.

The spirit was run through the distillery's stills and old fashioned worm tubs, for a bold, meaty Speyside spirit. A Pedro Ximenez cask added raisin, date and a treacle sweetness. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (pineapple and mango) over the oily, meaty depth. The robust make rewards long ageing, the meatiness giving way to tropical fruit. The cool Speyside air gives a slow, even maturation, the young sulphur fading to fruit. It was rebuilt in 1965, but kept its worm tubs where most distilleries dropped them. It keeps its worm tub condensers, an old fashioned set up that builds a heavy, meaty, sulphurous spirit.

At its natural 57.1% it is concentrated. A muscular, waxy sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. The finish runs meaty, waxy and warm. This is the muscular, meaty Speyside malt of Craigellachie.