Craigellachie 15 Years Old 2005 Cask #DL 14558 (Old Particular)

The Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing bottled this Craigellachie, a 15 year old, distilled in 2005, from cask DL 14558, bottled at 48.4%, one of 357 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.

It was distilled for the heavy, meaty spirit Craigellachie is known for, giving the heavy, oily spirit at its heart. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the meaty, oily malt. Through oxidative maturity esters concentrate, the worm tub weight turning to mango and a waxy depth. The robust make rewards long ageing, the meatiness giving way to tropical fruit. 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.

At 48.4%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Pineapple, malt and a savoury edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. A robust, malty finish ends on tropical fruit and a warm spice. This is the muscular, meaty Speyside malt of Craigellachie.