Review by: The Muskox

Today’s fare is a young bottling of Craigellachie, a distillery known for its rich herbal and savoury character. Let’s see how much of that comes through here.

---

Distillery: Craigellachie.

Bottler: Single Cask Nation.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 58.1%, cask strength.

Age: 13 years old. Distilled in 12/2005. Bottled in 08/2019.

Cask type: Cask #314984, a bourbon barrel.

Color: Straw. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

---

Nose: Heavy – that spirit-sulfur is definitely here. Almost a sour-honey sort of note. Honey-soaked brioche, Red Delicious apples, pralines ‘n’ cream. Slightly floral.

Palate: Medium-thick texture, next to no heat at all. Arrives with thick honey, citronella and yellow plums. Sort of a slow build into warming honey and spice. Boozy spice, well-toasted toast, candied nuts, and slightly chocolatey, like cheap waxy chocolate. Gristy malt. Mild sulfur throughout.

Water actually increased the sulfur a little, and added stonefruit, lemon pith, and some confectionary notes.

Finish: Medium-long and sweet. Honeycomb, candied ginger, and French vanilla ice cream. Fatty sweet notes of shea butter, white chocolate, and toasted coconut. Coffee. Distant banana. A hint of sulfur-funk.

---

Possible SMWS bottling name: “This worm tub is COVERED IN BEEEEEEES”

Notes: Solidly meh. The sulfur isn’t the problem – it’s not that horrible rotten-egg type of sulfur that comes from a treated sherry cask, but rather spirit-sulfur, straight from the stills. It’s the kind of sulfur that comes across more as just one flavour among many instead of dominating the dram. The thing with this dram is that it’s really just a funky-honey-bomb, without much else. Water might have actually made things worse, adding some bitterness and more sulfur. Some things I like in this dram are the thick texture and the long and tasty finish. Overall, it’s decent and drinkable, but isn’t anything to write home about.

Final Score: 76.

---

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.