Review #81: Craigellachie 8 (Creative Whisky Company Single Cask Exclusives Speyside CR004)

Craigellachie 8 (Creative Whisky Company Single Cask Exclusives Speyside CR004)

Craigellachie is owned by Dewars, owned by Bacardi and known for their "meaty" malts. Named after the cliff over looking the Spey, this distillery calls their whisky "Anything but smooth." This Creative Whisky Company single cask bottling was distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2016.

Speyside - 8 years old - NCF - NCA- Sample ($70 at the local if I were to guess) - 50%

Color - Amontillado

Nose - First impressions, funk. OK, lets go back. Fig and lime, hay, something sour. Sour fruit maybe, lemon. This nose is a little bit all over without being distracting.

Taste - Red fruit, chocolate, orange, leather, cocoa - massive mouthfeel

Finish - - Sour patch kids, citrus zest, overripe strawberry, a touch of new wood, chocolate

Overall - 6.5 - What did I just drink? This was wild and untamed. While not out of balance, it just seems to evolve more than an 8 year old should from winey to chocolatey. It took a half dram just to get used to this. This is my second Craigellachie and I think this a distiller I need to explore further. One dram never seems like it is enough to wrap my head around it.

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Rating system is price influenced as it is based on my shopping decisions when buying a bottle.

10 Best in Show

9 Great Dram for Special Occasions

8 Worthy of consistent spot in my collection

7 Worth picking up a bottle if in the mood

6 I would buy a bottle if it went on sale

5 I would drink it happily if offered

4 I would drink it if offered on the rocks

3 Maybe some soda will make this potable

2 I'll Pass

1 Toilet cleaner

Inclusive Ratings

Overall 6.1

Standard Deviation 0.93

Skew 0.66

Kurtosis -0.50