Origin: Spesyde (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry and ex-Port first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Aceo Ltd.
Average price: € 75.00
Official website: www.murray-mcdavid.com
Vote: 87/100
After some time, independent Scottish bottler Murray McDavid returns to the blog. And they do so with a very special single malt: a Craigellachie distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2020 after 11 years in hogshead ex-Sherry and 15 months in first-fill ex-Tawny Port casks.
Owned by the Bacardi group, Craigellachie is a distillery of great personality: the notes between fleshy and sulphurous in its whiskies, so divisive among aficionados, make it a must for the more curious. In this case, the double maturation is a further reason for interest.
Bottled at 50% ABV in its natural colour and without chillfiltration, and offered by Murray McDavid in the Benchmark series, it’s still available in Italy and elsewhere.
Tasting notes
The colour is amber.
On the nose, the first encounter is with the typical sulphurous note of Craigellachie, which after 12 years in ‘important’ casks has not faded at all, on the contrary, it’s even swollen and fattened by a robust addition of naphtha. The influence of ex-Sherry and ex-Port wood can be clearly perceived in the hints of salted caramel, sultanas, milk chocolate, coffee (not powdered, the steaming cup just served), dried figs, sweet liquorice wheels and malaga, with a rather important reminiscence of black cherry and a fragrant incursion of aniseed biscuits. An impression of tree bark completes the picture.
On the palate, a rather pronounced citrus side emerges, with tangerine and ginger, which is surrounded by salted caramel, brown sugar, a nice bite of ripe apricot and a hint of sulphur, a further sign that the distillery’s imprinting continues to make its mark.
The medium-long finish is still citrusy, with a touch of caramel and, surprisingly, a foray into floral (primroses?).
That this would be a far from banal whisky was to be expected, given the distillery and the very high average quality of Murray McDavid’s offerings. But here we are beyond expectations, with a single malt that finds its own balance right from the start and entertains the enterprising drinker with a captivating symphony of aromas.