Craigellachie 13 Year

They say the cask makes up to 2/3rds of the whiskey flavour and for me for non peated whiskies usually the cask quality and type are centre stage and the new make is second fiddle. There are exceptions of course and this is one of them. I'm pretty sure the cask type was chosen not to get in the way of the new makes profile as I don't get a lot past sweet vanilla, spice, pepper etc but man the underlying spirit is sure interesting. I love this type of dram. It's not as meaty as say a Mortlach but everything is perfectly balanced. I'd love to see what another type of casking could do for this one. $60USD here and 4.25 at least. As an update / aside I found a sample of Mortlach Special Strength and cracked it open to compare. Similar profile but the Mortlach is heavier more sulfuric slightly harsher aftertaste. I like both for different reasons but the Craig 13 takes it for me even before you add in the 40% cheaper price....better balance. The Craig 13 I could drink endlessly the Mortlach not so much.