Craigellachie 10 Years Old 2007 Cask #309701 (Interpartner Weinimport)

From the bottler Interpartner Weinimport, a 10 year old Craigellachie, distilled in 2007, from cask 309701, bottled at 58.2%, one of 336 bottles. Craigellachie was built in 1891 and is one of the few distilleries still using worm tubs. It was rebuilt in 1965, but kept its worm tubs where most distilleries dropped them.

The spirit was run through the distillery's stills and old fashioned worm tubs, for the muscular, meaty make Craigellachie is known for. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the heavy spirit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper, tropical fruit over the meaty malt. A big sherry cask suits the muscular spirit, dried fruit meeting the meaty weight. It keeps its worm tub condensers, an old fashioned set up that builds a heavy, meaty, sulphurous spirit.

At 58.2%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Pineapple, malt and a savoury edge, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy and oily, the fruit carried on a meaty body. The finish is deep, oily and savoury. This is the muscular, meaty Speyside malt of Craigellachie.