Whisky : Craigellachie 11 Year SMWS 44.105 “Al fresco dining”

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 60.6%

Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 11 Years (Distilled 21 Feb. 2007)

Nose :  A foggy morning in a vineyard full of ripe musky fruits and damp green vegetation.  Burnt brown sugar and some silky licorice give a sweet edge to the nose which is otherwise full of muted wild flowers.

Palate : Silky smooth, it has a wonderful palate coating oiliness.  Loads of beautiful cracked black pepper, aged cheese, and pickled olives provide some salt and spice.  Floral undertones come out as it rests in the glass along with some concentrated sweet black sugar.  Velvety cream and soft floral spices come forward more with a few drops of water, salty notes and funk appear a bit like sweat but generally stay in the background with a sweet salted caramel near the finish.

Finish : Slightly acidic, the finish lingers a while like a bitter tea and spice.

Score :  6

Mental Image : Dude in pastels on a bro-stroll through a late-Summer vineyard.

Something Better : Glenallachie 9 Year SMWS 107.13 (similar pickle and olive, more fruit)

Something Similar : Craigellachie 13 Year (similar salt-fruit profile, less complex/finish)

Something Worse : Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength (similar profile but everything is on fire)

Notes :  Bright and fruity this Craigellachie has only loud whispers, think whisper yelling, of any smoke, salt, or minerality— indeed this reminds me a lot of Springbank Lite if such a thing existed.  A bit of water stomps most of that out and brings forward a lovely creaminess in the glass.  All of that funk and spice disappear in an avalanche of creaminess that marries very well with the floral notes that take center stage.  

This was a delightful dram that opened up well over time and responded very well to a few drops of water.  Throwing out a blanket statement : I think Craigellachie holds up really well to a few cubes of ice or a bit of water.  Maybe not the hottest of hot takes, but I find that on a hot day, aside from Arran, it is to Craigellachie that I turn.  Even the standard issue 13 Year has enough body and flavor to hold up to a cube of melting ice and cask strength drams like this are absolutely brilliant in that instance.

Water and ice are not necessary to enjoy this dram— it stands up just fine on its own.  It is perhaps a bit spirited, you would never mistake this for a well aged dram, but the youthfulness does not detract from the wonderful palate of interesting flavors.  At our tasting my wife closed her eyes and described the entire long table the impression the dram gave her of a dude with long hair that shimmered gold in the sunlight prancing in a vineyard while wearing a long flowing purple sundress.  That is how she chose to interpret the fruity floral notes on the nose and palate with the occasional drop of salty sweat and sweet earthiness.  I am not sure I quite got that— this dram did not magically transport me anywhere— but it was still delicious and another quality Craigellachie.