Craigellachie 14 Years Old 2000 Cask #HL 10892 (Old Malt Cask)

A Craigellachie of a 14 year old chosen by the independent Hunter Laing, distilled in 2000, from cask HL 10892, bottled at 50%, one of 680 bottles. Craigellachie was founded in 1891 by a consortium led by Peter Mackie of White Horse fame. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is robust and full, mellowing to tropical fruit with age.

Run through the distillery's stills and old fashioned worm tubs, for an oily, robust make that turns tropical with age. A sherry cask wrapped the muscular spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the robust body turning fruitier. Refill oak lets the muscular Craigellachie character lead, malt and tropical fruit beneath. Craigellachie is one of the last Speyside malts still built on worm tubs. Years in oak round the spirit, the worm tub weight turning to pineapple and wax.

At a hearty 50% it carries real weight. Mango, wax and a meaty depth, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is full and oily, the fruit lifted by a meaty weight. A robust, malty finish ends on tropical fruit and a warm spice. This is a meaty, tropical Speyside single malt.