Craigellachie 14 Years Old 2008 Cask #7537257 (Duncan Taylor)

The Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor bottled this Craigellachie, a 14 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 7537257, bottled at 54.2%, one of 74 bottles. Craigellachie, where the Fiddich meets the Spey, is the meaty backbone of the White Horse blend. 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 an oily, robust make that turns tropical with age. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness to the heavy, meaty malt. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the robust body turning fruitier. Years in oak round the spirit, the worm tub weight turning to pineapple and wax. Long ageing turns the young, sulphurous spirit towards mango, wax and a warm spice. It was rebuilt in 1965, but kept its worm tubs where most distilleries dropped them.

At 54.2%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Meaty malt, tropical fruit and a waxy oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run meaty malt, tropical fruit and a waxy oil. A long, oily finish carries a tropical depth. This is a meaty, tropical Speyside single malt.