Craigellachie 7 Years Old 2014 Cask #30+47+52 (Signatory)

From the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, a 7 year old Craigellachie, distilled in 2014, from cask 30+47+52, bottled at 40%. Craigellachie is a Bacardi owned Speyside distillery whose worm tubs give a heavy, meaty spirit. It was rebuilt in 1965, but kept its worm tubs where most distilleries dropped them.

It was distilled in copper stills with worm tub condensers on Blue Hill spring water, for a bold, meaty Speyside spirit. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the meaty character to the fore. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the meaty spirit, the worm tub character still struck match sharp. The oily spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and tropical fruit over a meaty malt. Worm tubs give little copper contact, so the new spirit is heavy and full, mellowing with time.

At 40% it is smooth and honeyed. A muscular, waxy sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is heavy and oily, the fruit carried on a meaty body. Tropical fruit, malt and a savoury oak see out the finish. This is Craigellachie, the meaty heart of White Horse.