Another two or three Craigellachies


November 3, 2025

Another two or three Craigellachies

We’ve still got the official 41-year-old from three years ago to taste, and we don’t want to keep it waiting any longer. We'll take the opportunity to add two or three independent bottlings as well. We were impressed by the texture of the Craigellachies we tried not long ago...

(P'tit Noir, assistant mouser at WF Towers, doing what he does best.)

Craigellachie 11 yo 2013/2024 (60.6%, Lady of the Glen, refill butt, recharred cask finish, cask #30080, 215 bottles)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: perhaps a little acrid and brutal at first nosing, with rather assertive notes of green pepper and a strong suggestion of extremely rustic kirsch. Sour cherries abound, followed by a few smaller apples that come across as slightly more civilised. Water might well work wonders here. With water: markedly improved, as expected, shifting towards black tea, pipe tobacco, leather, bay leaf and ginger root, all rather nicely harmonised. Mouth (neat): massive and extremely taut, displaying loads of bitter oranges alongside that persistent green pepper, then a touch of perfume, slightly scorching in its intensity. With water: it retains a faintly perfumy and floral dimension, yet the bitter oranges and grapefruits, not to mention some mountain honey and tiny drops of herbal concoctions, bring things back into balance rather smartly. Finish: long, now fairly fresh. Ginger and black pepper return in the aftertaste, accompanied by the faintest trace of soap. Ultimately, it’s the pepper that reigns supreme across your palate. Comments: one understands quite clearly why certain independent bottlers prefer to bring their whiskies down just a touch, say to 57% or 100° proof, to sidestep those more challenging tasting phases.
SGP:461 - 84 points.

Craigellachie 14 yo 2009/2023 (53.4%, Whiskyfacile, Black Cat series, hogshead, cask #90305000, 300 bottles)

Very pretty label, approved by 'P’tit Noir', one of the five mousers here at WF Towers. Which, as you’ll have guessed, is entirely black. Colour: gold. Nose: the cask is less pronounced here and as a result we find the distillate’s oily side coming through, with peanut oil, sesame, a touch of flint, ashes, and even a little peat, to the point where one wonders whether this hogshead hadn’t previously held a peated malt. Most likely! In any case, this is most delightful, almost like Ardmore. With water: damp earth and little apples from a very old tree, in an ancient orchard near a weathered old house. You see... Mouth (neat): wonderfully oily, lemony and as camphory as one could wish, with a faint hint of Laphroaig. No matter, as it’s excellent. With water: still excellent, with a wee menthol cigarette note and a touch of salt. Finish: fairly long, continuing in the same vein. Comments: whether it’s Craigellaphroaig or not, it’s really excellent.
SGP:563 - 88 points.

Craigellachie 41 yo 1980/2021 (46%, OB, Exceptional Cask Series, refill hogsheads, casks #2036, 2038, 2040, 2043, 402 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: typical of those older Speysiders that haven’t seen much sherry, instead brimming with pollen, honey, beeswax and yellow flowers, to which are soon added overripe apples and plums. It’s absolutely charming, perhaps a tad fragile, and probably a little less complex than the 37-year-old we tried last time. Mouth: perhaps showing a touch more fatigue on the palate, with hints of stale beer, dust and cardboard, though all of that remains moderate and it hasn’t completely run out of steam either. Mead, followed by oranges which, as usual, manage to rescue the whole affair somewhat, lifting it back up the liveliness scale. You know what I mean? Finish: rather short but still very pretty, on various honeys and, once again, orange. The aftertaste brings to mind some old beeswax polish. Comments: perhaps the sort of casks that would more often have ended their days in some venerable ultra-premium blend. But it remains very charming indeed...
SGP:451 - 87 points.

Check the index of all Craigellachie we've tasted