About This Dram
Today I’m in celebration mode, and I just want to share that feeling! For the last few weeks, I’ve spent the vast majority of my waking hours combining two of my greatest passions – design and whisky. And now the time has come to release my creation into the wild. Introducing the brand new Strath Online Spirit Merchants!
You can now enjoy that Strath shopping experience at any place and at any time. Do you have your eye on a special release that’s just been announced, but the weatherman is calling for -7° and snow? (I’m looking at you next Wednesday!) Well, now you can make your purchase from the comfort of your couch. Are you on holiday but there’s an SMWS Outturn going on? Don’t fret, you can now buy SMWS whiskies from the pool in Maui!
So how do we best celebrate this occasion together? With a fantastic dram at an incredible price of course! (Special thanks to the importers for helping us pass on some killer savings to our members.)
Craigellachie is a bit of a hidden gem, highly regarded by blenders for its rich and meaty spirit that is bursting with tropical fruit flavours. Despite the high regard with which it’s held in the industry, consumers tend to overlook it for some reason. It’s normally found in the globally popular Dewars blends, and whilst there are both official and indy bottlings regularly available – the Dram Association has somehow managed to have never presented one until now!
This particular bottling was created by Duncan Taylor for their “The Octave” series, which explores the effect of an octave cask finish. What’s an octave you ask? Well, if you take a Sherry Butt and break it down and make eight smaller casks out of it, you’ve got yourself eight octaves! After several years in another cask, this Craigellachie spent 5 months maturing in an octave prior to being bottled at cask strength with no added colour or chill-filtration.
Tasting Notes
The nose is just nuts. Well, not just nuts, there are some other things too – but there are a lot of nuts. Hazelnut praline was the first to make an appearance. Creamy, salty, sweet and nutty. Then came the big guns – macadamias, and plenty of them. The nutty nose was accompanied by dried apricots, plums and ginger biscuits.
The palate made the cask type quite obvious. Sherry. Definitely sherry. It comes across as a wonderful mix of Honey Nut Cheerios and Golden Grahams with freshly cut grass and peppermint.
