Craigellachie 16 Years Old 2008 Cask #MoS 24008 (Malts of Scotland)

This Craigellachie was bottled by the bottler Malts of Scotland, a 16 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask MoS 24008, bottled at 54.9%, one of 291 bottles. Craigellachie is a Bacardi owned Speyside distillery whose worm tubs give a heavy, meaty spirit. Most of its make still goes to blending, a robust filler prized for its weight.

Run through the distillery's stills and old fashioned worm tubs, for the muscular, meaty make Craigellachie is known for. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness to the heavy, meaty malt. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (pineapple and mango) over the oily, meaty depth. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the oily, tropical core over the years. The official range runs a thirteen, seventeen and twenty three year old, with rare older bottlings. The distillery was founded in 1891 by a group led by Peter Mackie, the man behind the White Horse blend.

At 54.9%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. A robust, oily fruitiness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Pineapple, malt and a savoury wax fill the middle. A robust, malty finish ends on tropical fruit and a warm spice. This is an oily, tropical Speyside single malt.