Craigellachie 23 Years Old 1995 Private Stock (Douglas Laing)

A 23 year old Craigellachie from the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, distilled in 1995, bottled at 56%, one of 104 bottles. Craigellachie, where the Fiddich meets the Spey, is the meaty backbone of the White Horse blend. The distillery was founded in 1891 by a group led by Peter Mackie, the man behind the White Horse blend.

The spirit was drawn off pot stills cooled by traditional worm tubs, for a bold, meaty Speyside spirit. A Pedro Ximenez cask added raisin, date and a treacle sweetness. In the oxidative, evaporative years concentration brings tropical fruit, wax and a savoury depth over the meaty malt. Craigellachie is one of the last Speyside malts still built on worm tubs. Years in oak round the spirit, the worm tub weight turning to pineapple and wax. It sits at the village of Craigellachie, where the River Fiddich joins the Spey by Telford's iron bridge.

At its natural 56% it is concentrated. A muscular, waxy sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Soft tropical fruit and a waxy malt sit behind the cask. A robust, malty finish ends on tropical fruit and a warm spice. This is an oily, tropical Speyside single malt.