Thirteen Craigellachie, backwards


October 6, 2025

Thirteen Craigellachie, backwards

What I mean by that is that we’ll start by tasting a very old official bottling that’s relatively recent, then we’ll add a few indies that are noticeably younger and should be inevitably, or not, more lively and spirited. Well, we’ll see...

Craigellachie + AI

Craigellachie 37 yo (46.75%, OB, Small Batch, 3,012 bottles, 2022)

Very amusing, the tasting notes on the label start with 'tarte tatin' and 'crème anglaise', but fear not, the remainder is in English. Mind you, we suspect this is going to be very good... Colour: straw, so a surprisingly pale hue. Nose: superb right from the off, no doubt thanks to a cask that’s kept itself to itself all these years. It's chiefly floral, led by blooming honeysuckle in full swing, then come little pink plums and absolutely glorious honeyed touches. Immense elegance, all the more so as arrive dainty notes of ancient apricots from the South Tyrol, in the style of Master Vittorio Gianni Capovilla. I’m barely exaggerating. Splendid almonds too. Wow. Mouth: superlative, lifted, not tired in the slightest, the very model of great distillate aged long and slow in a cask that’s really done nothing but hold it. Gorgeous orchard fruits, still plenty of flowers, and honey from meadows across several continents, as well as, since we must, a wee slice of tarte tatin. As for the crème anglaise, we’re still looking... Finish: probably not very long, but the arrival of small citrus notes ensures this whole lovely construction stays firmly on track. In the aftertaste, a touch of vanilla rice pudding. There you are. Comments: sheer beauty, a tribute to the 'slow whiskies'. No rush!
SGP:651 - 92 points.

A short break before the indies, which are inevitably a bit disadvantaged after that real gem... … … … Right then, let’s go, and at random.

Craigellachie-Glenlivet 18 yo 2006/2025 (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, refill oloroso hogsheads)

Colour: gold. Nose: we had a bit of a struggle with a Port-matured version two or three years back, but this one seems rather charming, much more traditional, reasonably firm and textured on the nose before branching off into bitter orange, proper marmalade, and fir tree honey with the faintest mentholated breeze. A few currants and a whisper of soap, though nothing remotely troublesome. Then a hint of pumpernickel and battelman—let us call that its Germanic leanings. Mouth: cracking acidity, lemons, slightly unripe grapes, gooseberries... And considerably less sherry than expected. Lovely tension, sprightly, riding above the distillate’s rather oily backbone. Adorable. Finish: very good length, with a taut character that holds steady. Comments: an absolutely delightful wee bottle, perky and refreshing in every possible way.
SGP:661 - 87 points.

Craigellachie 2015/2024 (48.1%, Cask Masters, 1st fill Larose-Trintaudon barrique, cask #166, 320 bottles)

Larose-Trintaudon is a vast cru bourgeois from the Médoc (over 200 hectares), working roughly half Cabernet and half Merlot. Let’s see if that shows... Colour: full gold. Nose: yes, the wine influence is evident, especially after the splendid little beasts we've just tasted. Cherries, raspberries, all resting on a fruity malt, with some blood orange notes layered over the top. Frankly, it’s not bad at all. Mouth: the wine influence is quite pronounced here, no doubt we’re well within winesky territory, but again, it’s not unpleasant. A light touch of strawberry jam, atop some cherry-flavoured Belgian beer (Kriek). Finish: medium in length, carrying the same notes through. Comments: like a tune one doesn’t care for much, but played very well indeed. In other words, those who enjoy red wine-finished malt—and I gather there are more of them each day—should like this more than I do. I'll add that we've also just sampled some other excellent malts from this distinguished company at the Whisky Show in London. A bit more crowd-pleasing...
SGP:641 - 83 points.

Craigellachie 11 yo 2012/2023 (52.9%, Tri Carragh, palo cortado barrique, 298 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: palo cortado works a treat, and here’s yet another fine example, with a taut and lively Craigellachie, very malty, textured on the nose, almost waxy, and packed with lemon marmalade and damp earth. With water: out comes the paraffin, and even more moist earth. Mouth (neat): excellent! Fat, oily, dry, showing green walnut, pink grapefruit and bitter orange. With water: touches of honey rounding things out, though kept in check. Some lovely pepper building in... Finish: and here comes more pepper, top-grade stuff, along with some ale. Andalusian ale, naturally. Comments: Cadenhead-level quality, so excellent. In my humble opinion, as ever...
SGP:561 - 87 points.

Craigellachie 15 yo 2009/2024 (54.2%, Whisky Age, ex-Caol Ila hogshead, cask #305228, 283 bottles)

Right, we’re not the world’s biggest fans of in-cask blending in general, but we do adore Caol Ila, so perhaps... Colour: white wine. Nose: now, this is a lovely blen... single malt, with the distinct impact of both components, though let’s say they’re dancing the tango with grace. It seems the fattiness of Craigellachie marries well with the fresh peat from Caol Ila. With water: no idea what proportion of CI is in there, perhaps 10%? But as usual, the peated malt takes the upper hand. Mouth (neat): let’s call it peated pear. The Islay influence is even stronger here than on the nose. We like it. With water: it becomes very peaty, slightly reminiscent of, say, peated Benriach. Apple and ashes. Finish: same story. Comments: a very lovely blende... single malt, fresh, though quite disorienting if you’re looking for clear markers. Luckily our friends announce the manoeuvre on the label!
SGP:564 - 84 points.

Craigellachie 13 yo 2009/2023 (51.5%, DramCatcher, hogshead, cask #5005)

Colour: straw. Nose: I think we may have overlooked Craigellachie’s distillate all these years—it’s really quite beautiful, always oily, always highly textured on the nose (yes, that is possible). Aromatically it leans towards barley and apple. No issues whatsoever, quite the opposite. With water: same again, one might say it’s like a great beer, just distilled. Not BrewDog... Mouth (neat): very straightforward, still oily, malty, with orchard fruits and a touch of sourdough. It’s certainly more textured than its more famous neighbour. With water: it shifts toward more softness, but the profile stays firmly in place. Finish: long, still oily, though gentler, and almost a little sweet. Comments: all natural, very lovely, very simple, very very good.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Craigellachie 16 yo 2009/2025 (55.2%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, 1st fill Madeira hogshead finish, cask #205, 303 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: the very faint mustardy touch from the Madeira adds nicely to the distillate’s fattiness, with an increasingly earthy edge that’s also typical of Craigellachie. Notes of metal polish and dried flowers in the potpourri vein. With water: damp floors after the first rain, a flower vase, and an old teapot. Really! Mouth (neat): far more individuality than on the nose, with devilled sauce, kumquats (yes), and paprika... With water: quite the oddball, and it’s one that opens your chakras. Rock sugar, fat, goulash, pepper, honey... Finish: same again, and it goes on. Comments: there’s absolutely nothing routine about this wee thing, and that’s precisely its strength.
SGP:562 - 86 points.

Craigellachie 12 yo 2013/2025 (60.5%, Lady of the Glen, refill oloroso butt + oloroso finish, cask #300805, 332 bottles)

I’ve just noticed the distinguished owners are calling this a ‘Scottish’ whisky rather than a ‘Scotch’ whisky. I know, a rather pointless observation... Colour: amber. Nose: double oloroso, no less! So here we have more walnut cake and a healthy dose of Nescafé. Behind that, nargileh tobacco and fresh leather—think a stopover in Turkey during a Mediterranean cruise. Yup. With water: out comes the damp earth, yet again. Mouth (neat): it’s very creamy, it’s very rich, it’s very good, and it’s already deep into Christmas spices, along with a hefty pour of honey. For once, we’re early... With water: now it’s excellent, rich, jammy, thick, with bags of candied fruits and just the lightest touches of cedarwood and fir. Finish: same again, but with a lovely reappearance of citrus, which is fantastic. Comments: rather brilliant, this double oloroso.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Craigellachie 16 yo 2008/2024 (66.7%, Milroy's Vintage Sherry Reserve, second-fill sherry butt, cask #80900934)

Right then, did you catch the ABV? Another attempted assassination of a poor whisky blogger, it’s going to cost them dearly. We’ll be alerting Interpol forthwith. And possibly Mossad and the FSB. Unless... Colour: deep amber. Nose: probably thanks to the strength, we’re more in young bourbon territory. No complaints there, though there’s quite a bit of pencil shavings and corn syrup for now. The only cure, with water: an onslaught of chocolate in every form imaginable. Mouth (neat): seems excellent. The key word being ‘seems’. Pepper, candied oranges, pepper, candied oranges, pepper... right, we’re going in circles. So, with water: civilisation at last. In fact, it’s excellent, rich and oily once again, but with a kind of lift brought in by notes of oranges and all manner of citruses. That said, we’re still hovering close to the idea of a very, very high-quality young bourbon. So much for ‘sherry’. Finish: same vibe, a tart of fig, orange and caramel. Or something along those lines. More black pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: a bit of a mad thing, honestly. But then, we’re a bit mad ourselves, aren’t we.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Craigellachie 20 yo 2005/2025 (58.3%, Decadent Drams, Decadent Drinks, refill hogshead + 1st fill sherry, 251 bottles)

A toolbox on the label, that rather sets the tone, doesn’t it. Colour: deep gold. Nose: fairly elegant, still oily on the nose, but showing a touch of austerity. Scones, crème de menthe, beeswax, a fresh pack of Camels, and indeed a trace of engine oil. With water: more earth and potting soil coming through. Mouth (neat): not far at all from that excellent Milroy’s, just a tad spicier, but ultimately less extreme. With water: rather high-end, jammy, and full-on with Christmas spices. Yes, we're early, but that’s entirely Decadent Drinks’ fault. We'll punish them accordingly as soon as the opportunity arises. Finish: long, rather rich and spicy. Very peppery fruitcake. Comments: top-tier stuff once again from DD. It’s just that we didn’t find any proper toolbox notes, despite our best efforts...
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Perhaps just one last one, as we’re already at 10 Craigellachiesand we mustn’t go overboard...

Craigellachie 16 yo 2008/2024 (59.9%, Alambic Classique, Special Vintage Selection, sherry cask, cask #24021, 192 bottles)

To be perfectly honest, one never really knows what things like ‘Special Vintage Selection’ are meant to signify, but it’s part of the game and rather charming. So here is our ultra-exquisitely selected tasting note for this one. Colour: gold. Nose: oh, this is lovely, the sherry cask was lovely, and the lovely fat and oily Craigellachie distillate is shining through beautifully. Lovely breads, brioches, panettones, sesame oil, sunflower oil, peanut butter and damp earth. Splendid. With water: simply top class. Mouth (neat): bang, the citrus leaps out at you, and we’re not complaining. Everything here is spot on. With water: impressive stuff. Figs and Earl Grey. Finish: yes. Comments: to keep being honest, well, we try, the sherry played only a tiny role here, and we’re not sorry about that. The labels may look like they were designed in Quark Xpress circa 1998, but this is just a very, very excellent Craigellachie. Aus Deutschland, natürlich.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Craigellachie really is the best whisky in its town these days, without the slightest shadow of a doubt. Right then, see you tomorrow. Wait, wait, wait — actually, here are some more...

Craigellachie 16 yo 2007/2023 (53.1%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 333 bottles)

Always those labels we’ve loved so much. Honestly, Maltbarn/Martin ought to issue numbered posters of them and sell them at a premium, framed in brushed aluminium. We’d like number 1/10,000, please. Colour: gold. Nose: just forget it, pure Craigellachie, all on fat, banana, vanilla, apple, sunflower oil, peanut butter, stalks and salted butter caramel. With water: same again. Mouth (neat): we could simply copy and paste what we wrote about the nose, and in fact, we shall, with no regret nor shame. Pure Craigellachie, all on fat, banana, vanilla, apple, sunflower oil, peanut butter, stalks and salted butter caramel. With water: ditto. Finish: ditto. Malt. Comments: but how good is this!
SGP:551 - 89 points.

Right, I promise you this is the last Craigellachie of the year... Unless a new super-old official bottling happens to cross our humble path before Christmas.

Craigellachie 10 yo 2014/2024 (58.9%, James Eadie, cask finish, refill PX hogshead finish, cask #373077, 267 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: this is more on earthiness, curiously tighter and tenser than expected for a PX finish, narrower too, though the strength is certainly up there. So let’s add some water: still earthy, perhaps also showing some eau-de-vie of small berries, even a touch of bison grass vodka—Polish, of course. By the way, those old bottles of Z˙ubrówka from the 1970s and 80s have become quite splendid it seems, it just took patience. Ha. Mouth (neat): straight to the point, it bursts with orange zest and pink pepper, to the point where we’re wondering where all this is coming from. With water: just simple, just lovely—provided you don’t add too much water, as it’s not the strongest swimmer. Finish: oranges, green pepper, and so on. Comments: a faint Glen Wodka vibe perhaps, but all of this is very well done, just as we expected. In fact, we love it.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

This time, we’re really stopping. See you, stay tuned.

Check the index of all Craigellachie we've tasted