1 of 270 bottles produced for a special occasion from Speyside Distiller Craigellachie that does not do a lot of independent bottlings.
This single cask #900614 from the Craigellachie Distillery was distilled in October 2006 in a hogshead and bottled in February 2016 for The Whisky Shop Dufftown's 10th Anniversary.
There are two ways in which you can achieve sulphurous notes in whisky, one due to the burning of sulphur candles in casks to stop bacterial infection and the other comes from barley which is naturally produced during the whisky-making process. Craigellachie is known for its sulphurous nature, the first thing you can smell when you walk into the distillery is notes of cabbage and beef stock! The small amounts of copper available to the spirit vapour promotes these high sulphur levels. Craigellachie Distillery was designed by Charles Doig in 1890, this was just under 30 years after the railway lines from Lossiemouth, Dufftown, Keith, and Strathspey met in Craigellachie for the first time. The distillery was passed through multiple owners before it was sold to John Dewar & Sons in 1998, however, it wasn’t until 2014 that Dewars relaunched Craigellachie as a single malt brand.
Sulphur has become an emotive subject in recent years, but it is one which is also misunderstood. There are two ways in which you can get sulphurous notes in whisky. One is through the burning of sulphur candles in casks to stop bacterial infection. Although this was once standard in Jerez with the rise of bespoke casks for the whisky industry the practice has now been outlawed.
The second form of sulphur comes from barley and is naturally produced during the whisky-making process. If you cut down the amount of copper available to spirit vapour the higher the sulphur levels in the new make will be. What appears to not have been understood is that this sulphur disappears in time. It acts as a marker; an indication that once its cloak has been lifted a spirit will emerge either as meaty (Cragganmore, Mortlach, Benrinnes) or fragrant (Glenkinchie, Speyburn, Balblair, AnCnoc, and Craigellachie) In other words, sulphur can be desirable.
Craigellachie revels in its sulphurous nature. The first thing you smell as you enter the distillery is the notes of cabbage and beef stock. This is rising from the worm tubs which sit at the back of the distillery. It is the small amount of copper contained within them that helps to promote this character. They also add weight to the palate of the mature spirit.
Long fermentation has however fixed fruitiness within the spirit and this tropical/floral note emerges in the mature spirit. It’s this character: full, yet aromatic which has made Craigellachie a prized malt for blending: it has been a major contributor to White Horse since the late 19th century – with the result that it had to wait until 2014 to receive its promotion to the rank of front-line malts.
