Craigellachie 14 Years Old 2011 Cask #7544168 (Duncan Taylor)

This Craigellachie was bottled by the Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor, a 14 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask 7544168, bottled at 54.9%, one of 97 bottles. Craigellachie sits above Telford's famous Spey bridge, a Speyside distillery of real muscle. The official range runs a thirteen, seventeen and twenty three year old, with rare older bottlings.

It was drawn off pot stills cooled by traditional worm tubs, for a bold, meaty Speyside spirit. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the oak letting the oily, robust character lead. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the robust body turning fruitier. The heavy, oily make is prized by blenders for the backbone it gives White Horse. Most Craigellachie goes quietly into blends, a robust filler kept in part as single malt. Most of its make still goes to blending, a robust filler prized for its weight.

At its natural 54.9% it is concentrated. Meaty malt, tropical fruit and a waxy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run meaty malt, tropical fruit and a waxy oil. A robust, malty finish ends on tropical fruit and a warm spice. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real character.