Craigellachie 23 Year

Outstanding.

Nose: Immediately full and commanding. Fresh and preserved tropical fruits, roasted nuts, leather car seats, a hint of smoked tea, treacle toffee, crème caramel, stewed stone fruits and a touch of orange oil. Lovely. 9/10 Palate: Luscious and seductive from the first drop, the oily texture carries flavours of grilled tropical fruit, chocolate mole, butterscotch sauce and oatmeal biscuits but all the rich sweetness is perfectly balanced by a delicate melange of spices. There is a meaty quality to this malt but it’s not a barbecue presence, more like Cumberland sauce suggesting the presence of red meat laced with fruit. 8/10 Finish: Long. Oily, slightly drying and delightfully grubby with the dark tropical, almost rum-like notes persisting. 8.5/10 A stunner. I have not tried this previously, due to the cost, but when I found a bar-pour at the Aberfeldy distillery it just had to be done … and now I want a bottle. This is like all the best parts of an old vintage Balblair crossed with a light, fruity-style Mortlach. Lovely whisky, if you can afford it then just buy a bottle and enjoy. Everything produced by Craigellachie is worth tasting, but this is the best of their lineup that I have so far tried. Tasted as a 30ml pour at a distillery bar. “Excellent” : 89/100 (4.75 stars)

To finish off my exploration through some of the Craigellachie releases is a sample of their 23 year that @ctbeck11 was generous to provide. The nose starts with a mix of mango, flambéed bananas, charred pineapple, and freshly lit pipe tobacco then hay bales, vanilla cream puff, candied pecans and chocolate covered chewy caramels followed by sautéed apples, mandarin orange and watermelon hard candy that transitions to white pepper, cloves, leather and polished antique furniture with low ethanol burn. The taste is a rich and oily mouthfeel starting with creamy fruits of mango, flambéed bananas, charred pineapple and freshly lit pipe tobacco then chocolate covered toasted marshmallow, honeysuckle, rosemary and butterscotch caramels followed by pear tarte, mandarin oranges and caramelized peaches that transitions to white pepper, cloves, leather and polished antique furniture with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with creamy tropical fruits, hay bales, dark chocolate, freshly lit pipe tobacco, rosemary, leather and polished antique furniture. This is a spectacular dram that all the flavors found on the 17 year have carried over with a mix of creamy rich tropical fruits, farmyard, tobacco, herbs and polished antique furniture that the extra years have polished out any remaining sourness while improving the mouthfeel to be rich and velvety with a long and luscious fruity finish.

Very good dram with notes of honey, beeswax, sawdust, caramel, oak, leather, pineapples, brown butter, banana bread, walnuts, almonds, apple strudel, vanilla tootsie rolls, coconuts, and a little bit of raisins. Gets less oaky and sweeter the more you let it sit.

I was eager to try this 23yo expression of Craigellachie, since it has been praised by some critics, and i have had the 13yo which blew my mind for a Speyside Whisky. What better way to drink something from this distillery, than in the Craigellachie Hotel itself. Bottled at 46%abv a nice yellow golden color. On the nose, the Craigellachie typical honey note is here. Apples, orange peel, super elegant and fancy aroma. Gooseberries and a little burnt hay; very clean hay note. On the palate, honey and lemon is the name of the game. It is like a Cough medicine, but in one of those hard caramels; Cough candy. Aftertaste is sulphuric and elegant, but a little short. Salt, Honey, candy. A little dim. Overall, i believe this is an enjoyable dram, that offers nothing more than the great 13yo. It is actually pretty similar, but goes for 150 dollars more. Craigellachie is the home of Dewars, and you can feel this single malt is the heart of that famous blend. Having said that, this is good, but not my first choice for the price.... i won't be a choice at all. The 13yo is far superior in that way. My score for it is 83 over 100.

This whisky unfurled in surprising ways over the course of a glass, starting dry before yielding more fruity flavors. The nose is initially sandalwood, but hints of peach and nectarine emerge with time. Dry and slightly waxy flavors in the mouth at first reminded me of sucking a dried apricot — there’s no burst of fruit, just the foretaste. The finish, though, is where it really shines, with a long tail of golden sultanas that lingers for an age. It’s all carried by a rich backbone that has a touch of orange and a thick mouthfeel that hints at canned fruit syrup. I greatly enjoyed this whisky. It’s not one for newbies but perfect for the more jaded palette, like a cross between a Clynelish and a well-aged Irish whiskey. Huge thanks to @ctbeck11 for the sample.