Craigellachie 12 Years Old 2006 (Old Particular)

From the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, a 12 year old Craigellachie, distilled in 2006, bottled at 54.3%, one of 366 bottles. Craigellachie is an old fashioned Speyside malt, full bodied and sulphurous in youth, tropical with age. It sits at the village of Craigellachie, where the River Fiddich joins the Spey by Telford's iron bridge.

Worked through stills and worm tubs for a muscular, oily spirit, to build a robust, sulphurous, full bodied character. An Oloroso hogshead lent fig, raisin and a savoury, nutty edge. By the integrating teens the sulphur fades and esters build, pineapple and wax growing over the oily spirit. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the oily, tropical core over the years. The official range runs a thirteen, seventeen and twenty three year old, with rare older bottlings. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is heavy and full, mellowing with time.

At a hearty 54.3% it carries real weight. A heavy, oily maltiness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dried fruit and a savoury, oily depth give it weight. The finish runs meaty, waxy and warm. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real character.