Craigellachie 11 Years Old 2007 Cask #900637 (A.D. Rattray)

From A.D. Rattray, an 11 year old Craigellachie, distilled in 2007, from cask 900637, bottled at 65%, one of 333 bottles. Craigellachie was built in 1891 and is one of the few distilleries still using worm tubs. Bacardi's John Dewar and Sons bought it in 1998, alongside Aberfeldy, Aultmore and Royal Brackla.

The spirit was run through the distillery's stills and old fashioned worm tubs, for a bold, meaty Speyside spirit. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the heavy spirit. By the integrating teens the sulphur fades and esters build, pineapple and wax growing over the oily spirit. Long ageing turns the young, sulphurous spirit towards mango, wax and a warm spice. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is robust and full, mellowing to tropical fruit with age. Years in oak round the spirit, the worm tub weight turning to pineapple and wax.

At a hearty 65% it carries real weight. A robust, oily fruitiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Pineapple, malt and a savoury wax fill the middle. It finishes robust, waxy and warm. This is Craigellachie's robust, oily Speyside style.