Six years into More Drams Less Drama, there are still plenty of distilleries we have encountered only in passing – through blends, comparisons, or a single isolated bottle – without ever properly putting them in the spotlight. Craigellachie is one of those omissions (we’ve only reviewed one bottling during an SMWS tasting), which feels particularly strange for a distillery with such a recognisable, idiosyncratic style and such an important place in the Dewar’s blending universe. So today, we are finally putting that right.
The line-up combines two official core-range releases with two independent bottlings, from That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Elixir Distillers. It is a compact way to approach Craigellachie from both sides: first through the distillery’s own carefully calibrated presentation, then through the more individual interpretations selected by independent bottlers. Four whiskies are not enough to settle every question about a distillery, of course, but they should be enough to establish a proper first chapter – and to see whether Craigellachie’s sturdy, distinctive personality translates consistently across different ages, casks and bottling philosophies.
Craigellachie Distillery
Craigellachie is a Speyside distillery in the village of the same name, built in 1890–91 by a consortium led by Alexander Edward and Peter Mackie, and designed by Charles Doig. Today it is owned by Bacardi through John Dewar & Sons, having passed from Mackie into DCL and, eventually, Diageo before Dewar’s portfolio was sold to Bacardi in 1998.
Craigellachie is a sizeable operation, with two wash stills and two spirit stills and a reported capacity of roughly 4.0–4.3 million litres of pure alcohol per year. Much of that spirit remains important to Dewar’s blended Scotch, which explains why the distillery was historically much more significant as a blending component than as an official single malt.
Its defining technical feature is the use of traditional worm-tub condensers: long copper coils housed in cold-water tanks outside the still house. They permit less copper contact than modern shell-and-tube condensers and contribute to a heavier, more robust new make, often associated with savoury, meaty and sometimes sulphury notes. Craigellachie uses relatively long fermentation – around 60 hours according to one production profile – while its eight wooden washbacks are another traditional feature.
Craigellachie was once scarcely visible as an official single malt, despite being a major Dewar’s component. That changed in 2014, when Dewar’s launched the Last Great Malts range, placing Craigellachie alongside Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Royal Brackla and The Deveron. The main age-stated range comprises 13, 17, 23 and 33 years old; a 13-year-old Bas-Armagnac Cask Finish has also been added, while the 19-year-old was originally a travel-retail release.
The official bottlings are generally presented at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered and with natural colour, although it is always worth checking the individual release, especially older examples and travel-retail editions.
Craigellachie is often described as ‘old-style Speyside’, but that is best understood as a production consequence rather than a romantic label: it is a high-capacity blending distillery whose worm tubs preserve a weighty, sulphur-tinged distillate uncommon among the more polished, fruit-forward Speyside profile. The distillery’s relatively late emergence as a dedicated official single malt therefore makes independent bottlings especially valuable: they provide a wider view of how that sturdy spirit develops across cask types and ages.
Craigellachie 13-Year-Old Review
We start with the 13-year-old Craigellachie, the entry to Craigellachie’s core range. It’s matured into a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks, non-chill-filtered, contains no caramel colouring, and is bottled at 46% ABV. It’s not an expensive whisky: less than €45 a bottle in Germany, about £54 in the UK.
Colour:
Chestnut.
Nose:
Neat: Toasted marshmallows, loads of caramel, and fire-roasted pineapple lead, joined by baked apple studded with cloves and a lingering tang of gunpowder in the background. Orchard fruit, pear skin, and unripe banana sit over straw, with something grassy and floral alongside a distinctly sulphuric, meaty edge reminiscent of Mortlach.
Palate:
Neat: Chewy and substantial, with cooked sweet apples and cloves leading to an oily, buttery weight. Indistinctly fruity and grapey, backed by coal, charcoal, and burnt log character. Fudge, pepper, sawdust and dusty malt.
Finish:
The finish is on pear juice and tonic water, with roasted, burnt coffee powder aromas and a metallic and mineral edge. Honey and wood linger, with the bitterness carrying through to the end without becoming unpleasant.
Comments:
This 13-year-old is an excellent introduction to Craigellachie’s core range. It offers enough flavour, texture and complexity to be genuinely engaging, while the 46% ABV gives it enough weight and presence without making it difficult to approach. It also provides a clear sense of the distillery’s character: fruit-forward but muscular, with the savoury, slightly weighty profile associated with Craigellachie’s traditional worm-tub condensers. For its age and price bracket, it is a well-judged entry point into the range and a good illustration of what makes Craigellachie distinct from more conventional Speyside styles.
Rating: 6/10
Craigellachie 17-Year-Old Review
Our second Craigellachie today is another official bottling: the Craigellachie 17-year-old. Maturation begins in a blend of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, after which 50% of the blend is further refined in first-fill sherry casks and the remainder in first-fill bourbon casks; it’s non-chill-filtered, contains no caramel colouring, and is bottled at 46% ABV. Around €100 in Germany and €120 in the rest of Europe, and from £115 a bottle in the UK.
Colour:
Cider.
Nose:
Neat: Vanilla opens things up with rich, silky exotic fruit, canned pineapple, and a hint of smoky liquorice. More of that distillate sulphur shows through than in the 13-Year-Old, bringing meaty and gunpowder notes alongside fudge, soft oak, faint grass, cloth, and butter, plus the tropical fruit character that runs through the distillate.
Palate:
Neat: It clearly feels more mature than the 13-Year-Old, slightly weightier too, with subtle mature oak touches, gunpowder and a wisp of peat smoke, plus a bit of booziness. An oily mouthfeel brings a sweet, slightly acidic flavour with nougat in the aftertaste. Medium-bodied with the same apple and tropical fruit as the nose, plus vanilla, pepper, hints of smokiness, rich caramel, and coffee-chocolate notes.
Finish:
The finish is medium long and dry, with grass, vanilla and a light sweetness, still carrying coffee and cocoa, toasted barley, and dark berries.
Comments:
This Craigellachie 17-year-old feels more mature, rounded, and a more complex expression than the 13-year-old, with the signature worm-tub sulphur and meatiness still present but balanced against a greater sherry-driven depth, tropical fruit, and oak.
Rating: 6.5/10
Craigellachie 10-year-old Batch 7 That Boutique-y Whisky Company (2020) Review
Craigellachie 10 Year Old, Batch 7, is bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC), the independent bottler known for its cultish, graphic-novel-style labels. It’s a 10-year-old single malt bottled at 50.3% ABV, non-chill-filtered and natural colour, with an outturn of 2,987 bottles (Boutique-y’s classic 50 cl bottles). Despite being released a few years ago, it is still available: around £72 in the UK at Master of Malt, and €90 in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose starts with some pungent and sulphury notes, vanilla and overripe banana leading the way. Grilled pineapple runs throughout, joined by pine nuts, burning wood and Indian cooking spices, cinnamon, damp soil and malt.
With water: Reduction tones down the pungent and sulphury notes… and the nose altogether, but this still allows some barbecued orange slices to appear.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is strongly meaty and funky from the start, showing characteristics typical of the distillery’s worm-tub spirit. The palate has a dense mouthfeel and brings more exotic fruit and strong caramel notes, instant coffee, brown sugar, nutmeg, and toasted barley.
With water: Reduction brings out more spices, with nutmeg, pepper and a little chilli, and some woody bitterness.
Finish:
The finish is spicy, with dried fruits and caramel again, with a medium length, and without the meaty and funky flavours.
Comments:
This Craigellachie is not the easiest of drams, with some sulphury and pungent notes on the nose and palate. Adding some water helps round things out and tone down the off notes, but be careful not to drown it. Clearly not a dram for beginners, nor for amateurs having trouble with sulphur.
Rating: 5.5/10
Craigellachie 2011 Single Malts of Scotland Elixir Distillers (2022) Review
We end this session with a Craigellachie 2011, cask #900,093, bottled by Elixir Distillers under their ‘Single Malts of Scotland’ range. Distilled on the 20th of April 2011 and bottled on the 15th of April 2022 (so almost 11 years old), this single sherry butt was bottled at cask strength 60% ABV with an outturn of 510 bottles, non-chill-filtered and naturally coloured. This single cask was bottled for Kirsch Import, and as such, is still available only in Germany, around €60 a bottle.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: Full of classic oloroso character, showing chocolate, stewed plums, raisins, figs, and fruitcake, smelling notably strong and boozy when neat. Light spices and burnt caramel also come through, alongside peanut butter and coffee bitterness. Some rubber funk layered with complex maltiness and the distinct savoury character typical of the standard Craigellachie range, but turned up in intensity.
With water: After reduction, the nose opens up tremendously, bringing out more chocolate and root beer, plus walnuts, Paris mushroom notes, and a hint of tobacco.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is rich, not overly sweet but intense, with allspice, chilli, and cinnamon spice. Dried fruit and nuts develop further – pecans join almonds and walnuts for a pecan-pie quality – alongside chocolate and coffee bitterness, with plums and raisins returning. The palate is initially friendly, but the alcohol soon kicks in with pepper and heat, fortunately balanced by some sweetness.
With water: Somewhat counter-intuitively gets hotter with water and takes work with the pipette to calm down, though the chocolate and fruit both intensify – more pecan pie and fruitcake character, with a nutty almond and brown sugar sweetness emerging, plus a touch of fennel.
Finish:
Rich and intense, carrying dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate notes with lingering warmth from the 60% ABV. Coffee bitterness and a fruitcake-leaning spice character close things out, tapering into a lasting savoury-sweet impression.
Comments:
Despite being a little wild because of the high ABV bringing some boozy character, this Craigellachie is clearly my favourite of this tasting. If it kept some funk, the sulphur notes moved to light rubber ones on the nose and just a bit of funk on the palate, making this Craigellachie way easier to approach and enjoy. And at that price, I might consider getting a bottle to complete an order at one of the German retailers still listing it.