So another bottle from my chicago trip, this one i opened yesterday morning after starting my day with a lag 25 year....yes this was my "second breakfast" lol. nose - a billowing sweet cloud of awesome comes off this. Sweet candied fruits, vanillas, almost a red fruit rollup meets complex sugary oak. Wow it's awesome. Taste - The opening is sweet, fruity, mellow, with baking spices, some nutmeg, tannin, it's complex but not overly so. Its far from a stunner on the up front taste and then we have the finish. And oh what a finish and a LONG finish. The finish starts with a spike in the alcohol that leads to tootsie roll chocolates, there's a lingering spice and heat that lasts and lasts. There's a savory element here too but it's swarmed with sweetness all around. So it's pretty epic overall. This is far more a clean and subtle dram from Craigellachie vs their more sulfur infused 23 year. That said this is wonderful whisky. To make it all the better it's a damn steal at 200 bucks. This is a Craigellachie for those who are a bit agnostic with the brand but love rich complex sweet dram that are balanced with unique complexity and one of the longest damn finishes you'll have. 4.25...yes it is THAT freaking good!
About this bottle
This release is part of Aberfeldy and Craigellachie's Exceptional Cask Series. This series consists of exceedingly rare single cask and double cask bottlings, each of which are hand-selected by Malt Master Stephanie Macleod and released in limited quantities. This single cask bottling matured in a second fill Sherry Butt cask.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 4 parsed reviews.
After tasting a bunch of wonderful Deverons, Macduffs, and Aultmores, the Bacardi Malts rep brought open this bottle as the last drammers club pour as among the first in the US to ever try it. This stuff is amazing with notes of dark chocolate, white chocolate, raisins, toffee, vanilla, nuts, pepper, and old oak.
Strong sweet nose of maple. Starts sweet but not overly. Chocolate and vanilla taste followed by a good oak and nutty taste. Finish is a little strong due to the higher proof but balanced well with just enough of a sweet finish. Overall, a nice complex variety of flavors. Well worth the taste.
Rich and savory with plenty of nuts and raisins on the palette, burnt toffee on the nose. Despite being over 100 proof, it isn't particularly hot and sips very smoothly.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
