Craigellachie 14 Years Old 2008 Cask #7535739 (Duncan Taylor)

A Craigellachie of a 14 year old chosen by the Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor, distilled in 2008, from cask 7535739, bottled at 54%, one of 81 bottles. Craigellachie sits above Telford's famous Spey bridge, a Speyside distillery of real muscle. The distillery was founded in 1891 by a group led by Peter Mackie, the man behind the White Horse blend.

The spirit was worked through stills and worm tubs for a muscular, oily spirit, building the old fashioned Craigellachie style. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, vanilla and a tropical fruit over the meaty spirit. By the integrating teens the sulphur fades and esters build, pineapple and wax growing over the oily spirit. Most Craigellachie goes quietly into blends, a robust filler kept in part as single malt. It sits at the village of Craigellachie, where the River Fiddich joins the Spey by Telford's iron bridge.

At a natural 54% it is full and honeyed. A robust, oily fruitiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run meaty malt, tropical fruit and a waxy oil. Tropical fruit, malt and a savoury oak see out the finish. This is one of Speyside's most robust single malts.