Craigellachie 2008 Octave 13 Year Old - Duncan Taylor - 53.9%
From the Spirits Embassy website
The Craigellachie Octave cask No: 7535729 has aged for 13 years in oak casks then spent the final 9 months in a sherry octave cask. This release of only 75 bottles, is bottled at cask strength, non chill-filtered and natural colouring.
The Octave range is where the finest whiskies have a final maturation in reconstructed ex sherry octave casks, the spirit is invigorated by the increased wood contact in the smaller casks, bringing you a spectacular dram.
Tasting Notes:
Appearance: Copper gold, forms a thin line which beads before falling as slow, thin legs.
Nose: Apple crumble, candied fruit, vanilla, toasted almonds, and just a hint of struck match. With water the sulphur note becomes more prominent.
Palate: Thick, chewy mouthfeel, Seville orange marmalade, rich Christmas cake, stewed prunes, figs, mince pies and a light hint of sulphurous struck matches. As with the nose, addition of water brings out more of the sulphur note at the expense of some of the dried fruit.
Finish: Long and slightly tannic, Medjool dates, stewed prunes and custard, a subtle touch of black liquorice and menthol.
Summary: A typically robust, meaty whisky from Craigellachie, with the Oloroso octave cask bringing plenty of those Christmas notes to make this an ideal whisky for those cold winter nights by the fire. That characteristic worm tub sulphur note is there but is subtle enough to add a little more flavour rather than dominate. Although this is at an elevated abv, addition of water adds more of the struck match and reduces a lot of the fruit notes. For me, this is far better neat.
Priced at £99.98 so it’s not a cheap whisky, but if you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary then it’s well worth a look.
If you would like to know more about the Craigellachie distillery and their range of whiskies, follow the link to the company website.
Transparency: This sample was part of a 5 dram sample set, purchased from The Spirits Embassy. No goods or other incentives were exchanged, offered or requested for this independent review.
