Scotch Review #87: Craigellachie 13 Year

Distillery: Craigellachie

Region: Speyside

ABV: 46%

Age: 13

Price: $50 (on clearance)

Color: 0.5, Yellow Gold. Natural Color and non-Chill Filtered

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Nose: (according to the wife) Lot’s of fruit! Mainly, there’s a bit of tart, pineapple along with some apples and pears.

Palate: Lightly waxy mouthfeel. Apple cider is the main note with some mineral water and warm sweet rice donuts that have been lightly sweetened. After a bit of water, something very meaty–almost some kind of a beef stir fry–comes through.

Finish: Medium to short in length. There are some mineral water notes again along with some earthy ones. After a bit of water has been added, the meatiness from the palate continues here.

Conclusion: I have to say I’ve overlooked Criagellachie quite a bit and I’m kicking myself a bit for doing so. This is a fantastically fun dram. The nose is inviting with lots of fruit. The waxy mouthfeel really reminds me of Clynelish. The apple cider, sweet rice donuts, and mineral water play well together in the palate. And then that meatiness that comes out with some water just elevates this one up a bit. Overall, it’s a fantastic dram. Would I buy another bottle? Probably.

Final Score: 83.

Scotch Whisky review #87, Speyside Whisky Review #36, Whisky Network Review #112

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.