Craigellachie 10 Years Old 2012 Cask #900699 (Signatory)

A Craigellachie of a 10 year old chosen by the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 2012, from cask 900699, bottled at 68.4%, one of 529 bottles. Craigellachie was built in 1891 and is one of the few distilleries still using worm tubs. It was launched as a single malt brand in 2014, with a bare knuckle, old fashioned image.

It was distilled in copper stills with worm tub condensers on Blue Hill spring water, for an oily, robust make that turns tropical with age. A Pedro Ximenez cask added raisin, date and a treacle sweetness. By the integrating teens the sulphur fades and esters build, pineapple and wax growing over the oily spirit. The robust make rewards long ageing, the meatiness giving way to tropical fruit. Its malt has long been the muscular heart of the White Horse blend. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is robust and full, mellowing to tropical fruit with age.

At a hearty 68.4% it carries real weight. Tropical fruit, malt and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Pineapple, malt and a savoury wax fill the middle. The close is long, fruit over a meaty malt. This is Craigellachie, the meaty heart of White Horse.