Craigellachie 2008 10 Year Clan Denny (Douglas McGibbon)

Oud glaasje

Tonight's review is of an independent bottling of a Craigellachie 10 Year Old single malt, distilled in 2008.  The bottle is part of the "Clan Denny" series, bottled by Douglas Laing. My interest in Craigellachie malts skyrocketed after enjoying a singlecasknation bottling of an 11 year malt that was an incredible umami bomb.  This bottle is significantly different than that expereince but does have some interesting qualities.   Picked this bottle up from K&L Wines for $33 and have enjoyed tasting it and considering it. My detailed thoughts and rating below: ⠀ 🥃 CD Cragellachie 10 Year - 46% ABV Nose: Golden brown sugar.  Ethanol.  Tropical fruity perfume.  Some black pepper and other spicy notes that give it a bit of an edge.  After a while, the fatty peanut note presents itself, and reminds me slightly of Talisker Storm.  The empty glass somehow smells like a hearty beef stew. Palate: Starts off with fatty peanut butter but quickly gets sweeter. Oak. Sour and warming ethanol. Coconut note reminding me somewhat of the Oban Little Bay bottle. Sugar. Kind of makes me think of a warm alcoholic underripenned pineapple but has some oaky and fatty peanut notes tossed in. The texture is pretty oily and mouth-coating.  The finish is long and kind of bright and hot, reminding me of Hot Tamales candy.  This is an interesting whisky with some fun characteristics, but is also a bit rough.  The nose is enjoyable but a little sharp.  The palate has a lot of flavors, but they don't fall into my ideal spot for a Craigellachie and it comes off a bit hot.  I hoped for a meaty, oily umami bomb and instead got an interesting fatty and tangy-sweet malt.  Thankfully, I view the surprises as part of the fun of trying new  single malts, especially independent bottlings.  Cheers!  Rating Range: 79-82/100