Ah, sweet Craigellachie - how I love thee. Applesauce and porkchops, in a glass. The official bottling is good, the independent bottlings are better, and even at its worst (looking at you, Five Lions), it's intriguing. So here is a bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") that I jumped on immediately - eight years matured in two different Oloroso casks (!), bottled at 67.9% (!!!)... and a companion to another eight year sherry-matured Craigellachie I had a couple months back that was like drinking a pork and sulfur smoothie (!!!!).
Here are the official notes:
We initially noted the worm tub heft of this distillate shining through from beneath the sherry. Very typical of this underrated Speysider. We noted twigs coated in blackcurrant jam, wild garlic, aged Malbec, burnt raisins and treacle tart. With reduction we got gamey vibes of roast pigeon, orange travel sweets, BBQ softened figs and cocoa with hints of vanilla cream and marzipan. The neat palate displayed immediate, distinctive notes of sherry vinegar, malt extract, grist and chilli oil. Some roast chestnuts bobbing about in the darkness too. With water there came cinder toffee, coal dust and Belgian waffles drizzled in maple syrup. A lovely impression of wild strawberries drizzled with balsamic reduction. Matured for 6 years in an American oak oloroso sherry butt before transfer to a 1st fill Spanish oak oloroso sherry butt.
Yes, I'm interested already: I love the big texture of worm tub distillate, I love sherry, and I am super hopeful for blackcurrant jam, garlic and Malbec (what!), roast pigeon (what what!?), and waffles with coal dust (triple what!!?). At the very minimum this will be wild and interesting. Let's immediately dive into this young, brash, sherry-matured sherry-finished Craigellachie:
Nose: I feel a little bit like this nose is fighting with itself. I get hints of the regular apples-and-sulfur Craigellachie notes, but also a lot of sherry. I get dark red plums, leather, apples (red delicious), sulfur, nuts, burnt raisins or prunes, and big earthy red wine notes.
But that tension does eventually resolve itself if you let the glass sit for a while. Although the initial hit in the nostril is sweet, it quickly becomes rather savory and dry and earthy. Apples, moss, caramel, honey-on-pork, leather jackets, mixed nuts.
And a surprisingly musty/dusty scene, like when you would clap the blackboard erasers together in school to make the big white chalk clouds. More than Oloroso, this feels like it has Amontillado notes. Quite a nice, relaxed nose once you let it calm down a bit.
With water: More big drips of honey, some apples-and-cinnamon, and a very strong balsamic note. Remarkably similar to scenting an alcoholic balsamic vinegar, actually.
Mouthfeel: Medium/thick, viscous.
Palate: Wow, wow, wow, that's a LOT of alcohol. This tastes every percentage point of the 67.9% ABV, and makes Aberlour A'Bunadh taste like tepid day-old Kool-Aid. Hot as hell.
After the initial alcohol burn, which is considerable, I get apples, cinnamon, Red Hots candy, balsamic vinegar, hot peppers. sulfur, scorched nuts, brandy flambee, and chestnuts.
With water: Lots of raisins, plums. Leather, honey. Some cloves and pepper.
Finish: An immensely warming finish, filled with cinnamon and chili oil and cloves... lots of baking spices, mixed with a hint of coal or smoke from somewhere.
Verdict: This is significantly less "meaty" than the other 8 year I had, and is a fairly successful marriage of the Craigellachie signature apple/sulfur notes with a thick sherry influence, and their child is raw, hard-ass alcohol burn. Very interesting whisky! I like it a lot, but this is only for the brave. It will burn your tongue off at 67.9%. Still, packed with flavor. Worth your time.
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