Craigellachie 11 Years Old 2006 Cask #308356 (Single Cask Collection)

A Craigellachie of an 11 year old chosen by the bottler Single Cask Collection, distilled in 2006, from cask 308356, bottled at 53.6%, one of 188 bottles. Craigellachie is an old fashioned Speyside malt, full bodied and sulphurous in youth, tropical with age. Its malt has long been the muscular heart of the White Horse blend.

It was distilled in copper stills with worm tub condensers on Blue Hill spring water, giving the heavy, oily spirit at its heart. A bourbon barrel held it, vanilla and a soft spice over the 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. It keeps its worm tub condensers, an old fashioned set up that builds a heavy, meaty, sulphurous spirit. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is heavy and full, mellowing with time.

At its natural 53.6% it is concentrated. A robust, oily fruitiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy and oily, the fruit carried on a meaty body. A long, oily finish carries a tropical depth. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real character.