Review by: Raygun

Craigellachie is known for worm tubs, which results in a somewhat sulfury, often meaty spirit. Just recently had the standard 13 again, and it reminded me how solid it is. Aren’t many better entry level malts out there. This is my first from the Exceptional Cask Series. I believe it was an exclusive for Spec’s. Reviewed from a sample thanks to Ricebowl. Rested about 10 minutes.

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Distillery: Craigellachie 

Bottler: Craigellachie

Region/style: Speyside single malt Scotch

ABV: 60.8%

Age: 11 years. Distilled February 14, 2011, bottled on October 3, 2022. Happy Valentine’s Day. 

Cask type: Oloroso sherry #5646, 426 bottles.

Color: 1.5 auburn. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Full of classic oloroso notes. The color implied a first fill cask, and the nose confirms it. Chocolate, stewed plums, raisins, figs, and fruitcake. Smells very boozy, which is no surprise. Opens up tremendously with water. Even more chocolate and now root beer. Walnuts and some mushrooms. Hint of tobacco.    

Palate: Tastes boozy, too. And rich. Not overly sweet, but intense. Has some spice to it. Allspice, ancho chile, and cinnamon. More dried fruit and nuts, pecans joining the walnuts. Like pecan pie, in fact. Chocolate and some coffee bitterness. Plums and raisins are back as well. Somehow gets hotter with water, it feels like. Takes some work to calm it down. The chocolate intensifies with water, but so does the fruit.  

Finish: More pecan pie vibes. And fruitcake. Lots of dried fruit and nuts. The spice is more fruitcake than mole at this point.With an almond nuttiness and brown sugar. It’s on the sweet side for oloroso. Intense for sure. Some fennel pops up. I wouldn’t call it meaty exactly, but there’s a little sulfuric roughness to it. 

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Conclusion: Nice sherry cask here. It’s not overtly meaty, but that sort of flavor and texture comes out in the nutty character. It’s an intense cask, and hard to perceive much Craigellachie character under the sherry. Sure makes for a tasty sherry bomb though, so I’m not complaining. 

Buy a bottle? Wouldn’t go through the effort required.

Score: 82

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)