Craigellachie was founded in 1891 at the confluence of the Spey and Fiddich by a partnership that included Peter Mackie, of White Horse fame, and Alexander Edward. From the outset it was conceived as a blender's malt, and for over a century its single malt rarely reached drinkers in its own right.
What sets Craigellachie apart from most modern Speyside is its insistence on old equipment and old methods. The distillery still uses worm tub condensers — large outdoor wooden tubs of cold water cooling coils of copper pipe — rather than the more efficient modern shell-and-tube condensers. The result is less copper contact during distillation, and a heavier, more sulphury, meatier spirit than the regional norm.
The 17 Year Old, released as part of John Dewar & Sons' Last Great Malts of Scotland range in 2014, is the quiet flagship of the core line-up. Bottled at 46% without chill filtration, it carries the distillery's signature struck-match note alongside surprising tropical fruit — pineapple, beeswax and toasted malt on the nose, smoked meat and honey on the palate. The finish is long and savoury.
For drinkers tired of polite, vanilla-driven Speyside, Craigellachie 17 is a corrective: a reminder that the region once produced muscular whiskies, and at this distillery still does.
