🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Some still discover smoke in the nose and on the palate.

really tasty good bodied dram, i like it!

[April, 2016]  I had this dram during a FoSM club tasting.In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50 - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored it 85.  I took no detailed notes as this whisky did not interest me.

Pure oak, slightly sweetish, again figs (as in 13-year-olds), grapes. Amazingly spicy for a 17 year old.

Delicious. Compared to the 13 years old, nose and balance developed mainly.

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/swc-members-grand-dram-6/ SW ‘,.. Lagavulin and Craigellachie distilleries that evolved out of Mackie & Co.‘, both which strongly featured in the White Horse blend. SW [again] says [about Craigellachie] ‘The first thing you smell as you enter the distillery is the notes of cabbage and beef stock‘. N: Textural [bouncy spirit-sulphur] raisiny-sweet [white] wine profile with a pineapple-y melon sourness. T: A mildly-sour [pineapple] fruity punch, but add water, and it flourishes [relatively speaking]. Easy mouthful of straight-ahead American oak-matured barley juice – no more, no less. F: Barley-sulphury < sour, a little chalky and waxy-dry [yet grape-luscious], toffeed confectionary sweets,.. and let’s not forget the [sweet] cabbage and beef stock. Doesn’t hang around too long. C: SWC Carson reminds us to “give it a second chance”. Quite right. It sings far more with water, and time. Overall, however, this doesn’t fire for me as it did back in 2016 [88 points].

Summer Fruit Notes After the rather disappointing Craigellachie 13 Year Old, I now have a bottle of their 17 Year Old in front of me. This also matured on American, albeit 4 more years. Hopefully this has resulted in a more interesting whisky. The ABV is the same. Aha! That’s more like it. Fresh notes of gooseberries, green grapes, pineapple and juicy pears. Hint of banana and peach. Very summery. Some spices like liquorice, vanilla and some cinnamon. The oak rears its head, but in the background only. Nice nose! It’s all good on the palate. Summer fruit notes (pineapple and apples, but mostly citrus!) with a good spiciness in the guise of ginger, cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg. Pineapple shines through, sprinkled with honey and a truckload of vanilla. It would not surprise me if a few virgin oak casks were used. I also get some nuttiness, but cannot quite pinpoint which ones. A very summery dram indeed. The finish is medium long, fresh and spicy. At the death, I get some lemon zestiness and more nuts. Macadamia? Almonds? Let’s call it a mix of both. Much better than his younger sibling, but also close to 100 EUR. But I prefer to drink a little of something good than a lot of something not so good.

fruity fresh in the nose, complex very varied wood notes - very independent in its price range - the nose I like best - there is a lot of movement in it

Really good, but tell you what: I like the 13-year-old better.

Nose: Honey sweetness, cooked apples, fruity, vanilla, round and sweet. Mouth: tart oak, tingling, slightly fruity. Finish: bitter-sweet, with oak. Relatively short. Conclusion: The 13er was more exciting. This one is softer, rounder, but very unspectacular. Especially the short finish disappointed.

Great fruity-sweet single malt. The 23J is a little better, but in terms of PLV the 17J is the better choice.

- also americ. Barrels BUT significantly more sherry and Fruit notes than at 13 yrs. - with originally about 60 € super price

The 17-year-old is much more balanced and mature than the 13-year-old. He has the balance problems under control. Unfortunately, he is a bit overpriced, which means that he fails as every day dram. But more is not this unfortunately.

A very good Speyside malt! [Color] amber;

Like all Craigellachies, in my opinion, these need quite a bit of time in the glass and a drop or two of water to fully develop. More interesting than the original 13-year-old bottling, but the 23-year-old is worlds better.

Fruity whisky that is fun. The ratio of sweetness and acidity is nicely balanced. Wood notes are well integrated.

S 6 Not sure about the vintage but it's 50/50 European & American oak. This is such a BBQ dram with a heavy & unique texture. N 25 - Buttery but also waxy and somehow oily - Honey sweetness and raisins hiding behind P 27 - Predominantly sherry, which is weirdly interesting (raisin and dried fruit) - Warm, smooth mouthfeel - Touch of smoke F 26 - grain seeds bread - Smoked meat - Oak spice lingering

pleasant nose, but the taste is not my style. too much spices, too fierce and tastes much younger than 17 y.

A balanced, easily accessible single malt - 21.01.2017

a pleasant afternoon dram, let it be the first of the day. 87/100

Comparison of different price versions of Craigellachie distillery. OB 2014, 13yo, 46%, WB75692 Entry-level whisky aged the usual time in bourbon. All others surpass it. SV 100 Proof 2024 / #4, 16yo, 1st fill Oloroso butt (57.1%), WB259567, low cost (80 Eur), even "Exceptional Cask series". The designation exceptional casks indicates a longer maturation period of 15-17 years in the 100 proof series as opposed to 8-13 years in the base, however, this is mass production, not a limited edition. The heavy sticky sherry overwhelms the aroma and wins over the distillery DNA in taste. Still, a pleasant drink with a somewhat shorter finish of wine and slightly oaky character. Unbeatable for the price. OB 2014, 17yo, 46%, WB58004 Similar price tag (slightly higher) as the previous one, but "no-proof" alcohol and pure American oak aging. It will depend on personal style preferences, both provide a similar experience. Decadent Drams 2025, 20yo=16y refill Hogshead/4y 1st fill sherry hogs, 58.3%, WB281140 A double-layered, superbly balanced whisky that does not suppress the distillery's character thanks to the long maturation in bourbon and scented by additional sensitive maturation in sherry casks. The old school style is very pleasant to me, the high alcohol is wonderfully integrated. Nice work by a passionate independent bottler, which greatly surpasses the previous ones. Spyside festival 2025, 17yo, oloroso, 57.4%, Exceptional Cask Series, WB275427 A festival whisky that refers to the traditional old school style and is not afraid of full maturation for 17 years in oloroso sherry casks. Sensitive work kept the sherry influence to the limit, does not disturb the bitterness, dryness, tannins and shows another version of the distillery's work with barrels in pure sherry maturation (traditionally pure bourbon). IBs often combine both maturations, i.e. finish with sherry. Although limited edition, it is available on the secondary market and among the affordable ones, it wins in our test. Small batch 37yo bourbon, 46.5%, WB234095 Excellent whisky available only at the distillery as part of a special tasting. Pure bourbon aged long enough to absolute perfection. Unbeatable for me, it defines the high level, but the price tag on secondary markets oscillates around 3,000 Euros, so it is only available to truly passionate fans.

This on paper sounds amazing, sherry, peat, spice, fruit, oak. But... the sulphur is just too present, it turns this into a musty speyside vs bright and fresh. Not for me, yet still well done.

Big pineapple, fig and melon notes. More rich fruits. Banana. Honey. Hint of sulphur in the form of burnt matchsticks, which for me is the good kind of sulphur note. Scottish shortbread. Baking spices. A tiny hint of peat. Waxy mouthfeel. The savoury Craigellachie character is also present. Complex, heavy and delicious.

The Craigellachie distillery, located in the heart of Speyside, at the confluence of the Fiddich and Spey rivers, here we have no single mention here, it is time to fix it. It is no wonder, except for some occasional independent deliveries, the entire production of blends (mostly to Dewar's) has always been the first official fulfillment of this distillery (except for the contribution to the Flora and Fauna series) that saw the light in 2004 and it was 14 yo. A new line in beautiful retro design was introduced by the distillery at the end of 2014, it is a single malt at the age of 13, 17, 19 and 23 years, this year should be added to whiskys thirty-one. So I like to take advantage of the fact that three new performances appeared at the Whisky Festival and I chose to taste the middle age of them. The first meeting with whisky from Craigellachie fell to my satisfaction, I chose it as the opening shot of this year's whisky festival and I do not like the election anymore, great drink to start.

We are getting there. A significant improvement from the 13, more maturity, balance and complexity. A very decent mal for around 75 EUR.

A fresh whisky that needs to take its time until it reveals itself. This applies to both the smell and the taste. At the finish is actually only the first 10 seconds, because then the finish disappears quite quickly. Only a superficial orange flavor and citrus flavor lingers until about 2 minutes. I like this to taste, but no special whisky. I know how to buy other whiskys for that money. Yet I give this 84 points.

This is a great dram to analyze and there is so much complexity and flavors going on. It reminds me of some very nice Bruichladdichs' with significant age. It's not easily approachable and requires time and mood reflected by the rather wide rating interval. But when the time is right it's exceptional. (Rating interval 85-89)

Tasted at Amsterdam whisky fest. Not as punchy naturally as the 13 yo. Quite rounded and sweet, malty. Barley sugar, vanillas, spice maybe cinnamon. Pleasant but a touch too expensive for what you get.

Not bad, well done but nothing crazy. He will drink without making a fuss.

Craigellachie 17yo 46%. Light amber. Aroma is green raisin, it's hard to think of anything else for the first few sniffs – it’s all green raisin for me. The vodka-like spirit shows up subtly. A hint of sawn oak runs off the back of the raisin note. If there are other fruits I can only describe them in terms of colour – ‘green’. If that makes me sound crazy, fine. So be it. There may be some chocolatey barrel char, but if so it’s overtaken. Later on there’s a gluey note and bread crusts. Taste is low impact on the palate, muddled flavours up front, sort of like fruit 'n' barley squash. On the swallow it becomes mostly biscuity, some salty rusk biscuits, maybe seeded unsweetened flapjack, faintest bitter chocolate. Very much not a complex dram ... but on the other hand the flavours come together well. Although it’s low impact up-front it does have enough punch and flavour at the abv. Pretty uninspiring but solid enough. If I owned a bottle, it would be one that would end up at the back of the cupboard and which I would keep putting off drinking while I drank the good stuff. And £100 is a fair old amount to spend for a bottle like that - especially when the bottles at the front of the cupboard cost half of that. 3.3/79

It has this great fruitiness with that sweet wheat note

Nose: very spring, light, plum, sour cherry. Mouth: watery, bread, yeast, spices, nuts without specifics, a slight bitterness of grass or algae. An empty glass is leather. Aftertaste: long, spices with bitterness. PS Perhaps the sample was exhausted, as the whisky seemed rather stingy. Total 81

FEAST IN TIME OF PLAGUE Copita glass

Yes. It is a work painting. I have to work hard to get it analyzed. The boy needs attention and time and water. It is significantly more intense in its aromas than the 13y brother. But I also find him less drinkable. Maybe it's not his concern. It really gets better with water. And also over time.

A mature, continued sequel to Craigellachie 13. Complemented with oak, chocolate and sweet. A typical Bourbon barrel Speysider. Delicious.

Almost like an old 12 year old Elijah Craig Bourbon Whisky on the nose (berry caramel).

All in all, he is too expensive for me, I would not choose him again. Could I imagine that he likes some quite well.

BACARDI Masterclass

Great drinkable whisky. Nice fruity and soft.

Cereal, smoke in beginnings, a trace of sherry, dry, grainy, nice bitterness, fresh, tangy acid (pleasant), pulls me into the glass, mirabelle, woody, sourdough, hard pear, vanilla in the background, clear apple juice, hopped beer, dry , Yeast, very complex ... Something completely different, the 13er can be seen, great new range, a bit expensive

Non-chill filtered. No colour added. Condensed in worm tub. Less sulphuric than the 13 year old.

Apart from the surprising coffee note a whisky without corners and edges, but also without special features.

It requires work and a lot of time for analysis. Nothing easy and definitely not for the whisky beginner - very exciting. Really good start into a new “core range era” at Craigellachie. Full body with always new and interesting discoveries.

2018.08.06

A passable whisky, any note bothers me, however, without that I could name it more accurately, nevertheless quite good drinkable

Full review on my blog : http://blogwwb.blogspot.fr/2017/04/craigelachie-17-23-ans-ob-46.html

A damn good Bourbon-aged Single Malt with great Depth. Unfortunately, this one has become a victim of serious Price Inflation in recent years.

Aroma : Appricot, bryndza cheese, yellow raisins , vanilla Taste on arrival : intense on arrival, appricot-apple jam with rice. Taste in development: changes a little bit, more spice-salty-sulfury nuances adding on top of the fruit jam enriched porridge. Aftertaste : middle Body is an advantage of the malt, as always with Craigallechie.

Pours a fairly light golden, clear. Scent is full, very bready. Intense , oak, some vanilla. Taste is very full, intense, vanilla, very bready. Intense funk, full on woody. Noticable alcohol. Lovely intense whisky. Not overly unique perhaps ( accept maybe in it's power) .

Note after a dram in vertical 13, 17,19, 23: Nose: Fuller than the 13 year old, spices, raspberries, vanilla, mango Taste: Malt sweetness, cotton candy, towards the end it becomes extremely sweet, full and oily mouthfeel Conclusion: This is great whisky to sip on. But you have to like sweet - I can easily imagine a bottle of that.

The Craig is made to be sherry. 19>23>13>17. All the core range is tested ;) Smoky-fruity-vanilla ? I mean good for sure, but, there could be way more ? P.S. same points as 13yo for me, despite way pricey.

You can find my thoughts on the 17, which I think is the best of the quartet, here: http://maltandoak.com/craigellachie-17-the-hidden-gem-of-this-range/

Nose: Yellow fruits: pears, mandarines, yellow mulberries, some cooper for sure as its common in Craigellachie, grassy notes, lime, applemint, eukalyptus, plums, birchjuice, vanilla in the back. Palate: buttery, touch of fennel, coughhardcandy, very sweet licorice, red berries, woody apples, honeycombs with way, pears Finish: limonoil, bitter notes, hearty aftertaste, quite burnth actually. Something reminds me of some Grappas.

fruity sugar