Tag Archives: Craigellachie

Duncan Taylor’s Octave – Craigellachie 17 year (20025) 54% 

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Technically, my whisky hosting for the Bombay Malt & Cigar evening in October 2025 was only a trio. And a mighty fine trio it was – starting with a lovely Lowland Glenkinchie; followed by a wonderfully balanced Speyside with a simply delicious Aultmore; closing with a beautiful Balblair from the Highlands.

However, we came back from the Whisky Show with a wee bonus dram that simply could not be missed!

Craigellachie 17 year (Jun 2008 / 25 Aug 2025) Madeira Wine Cask No 7547103 54% (Duncan Taylor – Octave)

  • Nose – Gorgeous! Dark, steeped fruit, Christmas pudding, sweet spices, big, bold, and beautiful
  • Palate – The Madeira element was unmistakable – in a wonderful way. Sweet and full- flavoured, it is quite powerful at full strength
  • Finish – Sweet, long, and chewy
  • Water – An absolute must! It opens the whisky up in the most marvelous way, loads of creamy aromas join the luscious dark fruits

This was a stunner – made even better with a generous splash of water. We found it quite autumnal – mature, full, and fabulous. A worthy dram to definitively close our whisky tasting and accompany the next section of the evening – the cigars.

What about other Craigellachie experiences? Read on…

It was a great bonus after a terrific trio of consistently good drams:

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Whisky Show 2024 – Hunter Laing

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After exploring Hunter Laing & Co‘s Ardnahoe distillery, we focused on exploring what put these folks on the map since 2013 – their independent bottles and blends! It was Day 2 of the 2024 Whisky Show in London and we were primed to explore something truly special.

Scarabus 10 year 46%

We were directed to first explore Scarabus – a series dedicated to Islay malts and a guessing game between Caol Ila and Lagavulin. It is a mix of re-fill, ex-bourbon, and virgin American oak casks. As I’d sampled it relatively recently, I passed, however, my tasting companion enjoyed it!

First off was an expression from their First Editions series….

Auchriosk 25 years (1996 / 2022) PX Sherry Butt HL19727 48%  (Hunter Laing – First Editions) 

  • Nose – Fruity, strawberries, a cornucopia of different berries, making a luscious fruit compote, sweet spice, and cream, it continued to evolve the more time it spent in the glass to have the fruits and berries joined by chocolate and nuts
  • Palate – Spicy, black pepper and strawberries, soft and understated, incredibly balanced and smooth, complex, nuanced
  • Finish – Mmmmm…. raisins, spice, caramel, and all things nice

This was a lovely dram – well worth the wait for 25 years.

We then moved on to their Old Malt Cask series… Typically bottled at 50%, a new cask is bottled each month.

Craigellachie 16 year Sherry Butt HL21170 50% (Hunter Laing – Old Malt Cask) 

  • Nose – Vanilla, sweet like milky mathai, a hint of dried fruits 
  • Palate – Starts soft then builds up, chocolate-covered ginger spice, sherry
  • Finish – Surprisingly hot finish, even a bit salty at the close

Not bad but also not outstanding. However, I will admit I’m not always a big Craigellachie fan, so it wasn’t surprising that I was a bit middling about this one.

Ardmore 12 year (July 2010) Refill Barrel HL21172 50% (Hunter Laing – Old Malt Cask) 

  • Nose – Now we are talking! Very sweet on the nose, honey, hibiscus, very bright, shifting into glazed ham with a citrus twist
  • Palate – Wonderfully well-rounded, fruit and peat in terrific balance
  • Finish – Subtle and lingers

This Ardmore was much more to my taste – quite enjoyable!

Glen Grant 25 year (1998 / 2023) 50% (Hunter Laing – Old Malt Cask) 

  • Nose – A classic nose – honey, subtle floral, followed by a citrus tang… we immediately dubbed this a “sniffing” whisky – the kind you just want to come back to again and again to take a whiff
  • Palate – Lovely! We found it best to just leave on your tongue for a bit – it was sweet yet with just enough spice to not be a push-over.
  • Finish – Long and lingering – just right! With a nice oily lemon close

They say it is good to leave the best to last so it can be fully appreciated. I think the folks at Hunter Laing delivered here! Elegant and beautiful – this was a clear class act.

Confession time – I did indeed leave this in the glass for as long as I could to enjoy the aromas. It kept shifting between honey, floral, and citrus most delightfully.

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The Whisky Warehouse No. 8 – Allt á Bhainne, Benrinnes, Craigellachie, Dundalk Dew

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For a whisky explorer, small 20 ml bottles are a perfect way to try! Enter the Whisky Warehouse No 8 quartet – a mix of different drams that made its way from Nuremberg to Winnipeg… and then waited for more than a year for just the right evening in October 2024!

We decided to try the drams in the following order…. Some were “Yes please”, some were “Not for me”. Overall it was good fun to split between the three of us!

  • Ireland – Dundalk Dew 9 year (2009) Single Grain  58,7 %
  • Speyside –  Craigellachie 12 year (2007) 50 %
  • Speyside – Allt á Bhainne 11 year (2008) 61,5%
  • Speyside – Benrinnes 23 year (1997) 1st Fill Barrique Chateau Lafite 55.9%

We naturally started with the Irish grain, anticipating it would be a nice way to ease into our tasting set.

Dundalk Dew 9 year (June 2009 – Sep 2018) Single Grain, Bourbon Barrel Cask No W8118  58,7 %. 126 Bottles

  • Nose – Curious… it began a bit musty, then florals, some cereals, honey, opening further into cream and vanilla
  • Palate – Had a strength of character with no harshness, surprisingly balanced, uncomplicated yet imminently sippable, some bitter tart crisp apples
  • Finish – Not much but then not much was expected either

For a young grain, it was quite remarkable. There was a fresh summery quality – a nice warm weather dram where the appealing aromas follow through with a pleasant palate.

Rather a nice way to begin our evening!

We carried on with the Craigellachie – opting for a touch of sherry at a lower ABV over the Allt á Bhainne at 61.5%!

Craigellachie 12 year (Oct 2007 – Dec 2019) Olorosso Sherry Hogshead Cask No W8 900680 50,5%. 279 Bottles

  • Nose – Sour mash, apple sauce, toffee, over-ripe peaches, eases into red striped caramel hard candy
  • Palate – Bland… a bit blah actually with just generic fruit
  • Finish – Limited

Without water, it wasn’t much. The sour mash and over-ripe fruit aromas were almost overwhelming. However with water? It was a different dram entirely!

  • Nose – Is that toast and butter? Slathered in marmalade
  • Palate – Smooth honeyed sweetness
  • Finish – Lingers

As we contemplated our glasses, it was hard to think this was the same whisky! The more time in the glass, the warmer and more enjoyable it became.

Next up was another Speyside – this time from Allt á Bhainne – I believe the first I’ve tried from their distillery. Interestingly, it has a Canadian connect –  founded in 1975 by Seagrams, passing to Pernard Ricard, assigned to its Chivas Regal division, largely used in blends with a period of even mothballed for a couple of years before being re-activated in 2005.

Allt á Bhainne 11 year (Aug 2008 – Jan 2020) Garrison Bourbon Cask No W8 120815 61,5%. 72 bottles

  • Nose – Ah! Now we are talking! We were greeted by orchard fruits – crisp green apples and pears, then it shifted into chocolate and fruit – think a high-end orange peel and dark chocolate. Yum! The more it opened, the more enticing it became – strawberry and cream
  • Palate – Quite a bit of spice – not so surprising at 61.5%! Warm
  • Finish – Sweet spices of cloves and cinnamon
  • Water – Do try. Whilst it dampens the nose, it does wonders for the palate. Whilst it still has a prickle of spice, it is now more like Christmas pudding with a warm whisky sauce than hot spice!

This one really grew on us… I wasn’t sure what to expect but this dram had promise.

Last up we went to an older Benrinnes. Now I must admit, I’ve had some mixed experiences with this distillery.

Benrinnes 23 year (Oct 1997 – July 2021) 1st Fill Barrique Chateau Lafite Cask No W8 5721 55.9%. 84 Bottles.

  • Nose – Woah? Is that peat? Yup! A clean dry wood smoke – unmistakable and completely unexpected. Think apple wood chips smoldering. Also hay bales, roasted hazelnut.
  • Palate – Start well then changes, catching one at the back of the throat, unbalanced
  • Finish – More smoke
  • Water – Like the others – water is recommended. It makes it a bit more approachable

I was prepared for a great or disappointing experience. However, I was not prepared for peat. Which is a good reminder to keep an open mind and be ready to be surprised!

What about prior explorations from Whisky Warehouse No. 8? Over the last couple of years, we’ve sampled a few – with the Glencadam 8 being exceptional! Here is a short summary:

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Paris Whisky Live – Craigellachie 13 and 31 year

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Several whisky stands at Paris Whisky Live had special drams they made available with some fan fair! Such was the case with Craigellachie which had at a certain time one bottle of Craigellachie 31 year available to taste. Who could resist?

Of course, before going straight to the “rare stuff”, we chose to “warm up” with the Craigellachie 13…

Craigellachie 13 year 46% (approx Eur 61)

  • Nose – Tropical fruits – especially pineapples, some savoury sweet ham, sweet spices
  • Palate – Loads of character! Full-flaoured with both sweet fruits and tangy
  • Finish – Deeper and meatier than expected

At first, I thought – what a classic styled Speyside! And then realised this was far from the case as this Craigellachie was robust and savoury.

What do the Craigellachie folks have to say about their 13 year?

Craigellachie 13 Year Old evokes Bonfire Night: aromas of oozing toasted marshmallows, fire-roasted pineapples and baked apples studded with cloves, with the tang of cordite lingering in the background.

It was initially matured in a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks, then the blend was split to be finished with half in 1st fill Sherry casks and the balance in 1st fill Bourbon casks.

Craigellachie 31 year 52.2% (approx Eur 2,330)

  • Nose – Loads of honey, some oak, fruity and sweet
  • Palate – Juicy warm peaches, some “top” spice, hot chocolate though a touch imbalanced – a bit “too much” of the different elements
  • Finish – Follows through with fruits, spice, and more sweetness
  • Water – Some lovely herbal quality came to the fore, and rounded out the palate nicely too!

It was like being enveloped in a warm wool sweater or blanket. At cask strength it is remarkable… with water it is beautiful. Well worth trying if you have a chance – though it is with a rather steep price tag!

When introduced, there was mention of a combination of both first fill and refill casks…  I think it was also, like the 13 year a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry however don’t quote me on this! 🙂

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