Craigellachie 19 Years Old 1997 Finest (Hart Brothers)

A 19 year old Craigellachie from the Glasgow bottler Hart Brothers, distilled in 1997, bottled at 46%. Craigellachie is a robust, oily Speyside single malt made on worm tub condensers. It keeps its worm tub condensers, an old fashioned set up that builds a heavy, meaty, sulphurous spirit.

It was drawn off pot stills cooled by traditional worm tubs, giving the heavy, oily spirit at its heart. A bourbon barrel held it, vanilla and a soft spice over the oily malt. In the oxidative middle years oxidation draws out a deeper tropical fruit, vanillin and lactones fully expressed. The heavy, oily make is prized by blenders for the backbone it gives White Horse. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is robust and full, mellowing to tropical fruit with age. The oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and tropical fruit over a meaty malt. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the meaty malt.

At 46% it is smooth and honeyed. Tropical fruit, malt and a warm spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft tropical fruit and a waxy malt sit behind the cask. The finish is long, oily and savoury. This is Craigellachie, the meaty heart of White Horse.