Part 5 of Reviews from La Maison du Whisky Singapore
Review by: Whiskery Turnip
One of my formative whisky experiences occurred at the La Maison du Whisky hub in Singapore. I was just getting into scotch and had developed a keen interest in Amrut while traveling to India for my sister-in-law’s wedding. My wife and I made a stopover at LMDW and ordered a flight each with help from the staff. As we chatted whisky with the bartender, and we knew very little at the time so I recall the conversation being him asking if we had tried lots of stuff and us replying no, bottles started to appear in front of us. I had never been to a whisky bar before, but the experience was revelatory; from an epic early Amrut Spectrum to a Hanyu, I had no idea how special some of those whiskies were until much later.
Whenever we return to Singapore, we make a pit stop at LMWD. The last time we made it by was 2019; at the time, it felt as though the whisky selection had been trimmed down quite a bit. Four years later, the amount of rum is now staggering, but the whisky selection felt much improved. Sure, old and rare stuff is not just going to magically reappear. Still, the variety of bottlers and casks available appeared more diverse. As we explored our flight, we gazed at the walls of whisky and found plenty more to try on another night.
Distillery: Glen Keith-Craigduff
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region: Scotland/Speyside Single Malt
ABV: 45.4%. Cask strength.
Age: 45 years. Distilled on 4 April 1973. Bottled on 13 June 2018.
Cask type: Refill Sherry Butt.
Nose: Wax, cream, tropical fruits, mellow florals, sandalwood, leather, burning candle wicks, yuzu, mint.
Palate: Medium-bodied, waxy, oily, overripe fruits, cream, pineapple, machine oil, burning wicks, more herbal at the end with jasmine, yuzu, achiote.
Finish: Very long and waxy, occasionally creamy, with dried fruit, a kiss of salt, and burning candle wicks.
Mental Image: The Divine Candlemaker.
Conclusion: The aroma was complex and sublime— waxy, creamy, and loaded with sweet dried tropical fruits and floral petals. The holy bath bomb of ultimate relaxation appeared like a mirage between oily leather, sandalwood, and burning candles. Yuzu, mint, and chrysanthemum appeared like herbal tisanes for the bath experience. Medium-bodied and intensely waxy and oily, the flavor profile was rich and varied with overripe nectarines, cream, sweet butter, and pineapple rings. In the background were hints of machine oil between candle wax and burning wicks. Toward the end, a more subtle herbal character emerged with jasmine, yuzu, and achiote seed. The finish was very long and waxy, occasionally creamy, with dried fruit, a kiss of salt, and burning candle wicks.
Sublime and divine, this was a phenomenal whisky and presumably the final cask of Craigduff anywhere. I wrote about the mysterious origins of Craigduff last year; the short of it is that Chivas and Signatory disagree over where the malt was distilled— but they do agree that it was an experimental batch done in 1973 in which concentrated heavily peated water was added to the wash still. I thought the previous bottle I tried, a comparatively young 33 year, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, yet here I am again.
I adored this whisky’s waxy and faintly floral elements; I do not think anything else has entirely captured the image of a soaking tub surrounded by lit candles. I do not know if all Glencraig was like this, but the two I tried were intensely waxy and crescendoed beautifully after just a few sips. These really are the kind of bottles that ruin you for everything else and leave an indelible memory.
Overall, spectacular. I enjoyed this during a recent stopover at LMDW’s Singapore outpost. The staff there was as excellent as ever; friendly and ready to talk whisky. They humored me and allowed me to share the legend of Craigduff, which came up after one of them was outed as a fellow fan of Glen Keith. We all tried a little dram of the curious whisky, and the missus ranked it as the dram of the evening— I agree!
Final Score: 98.
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.
Malt Runners 