When I was first introduced to Scotch whisky, I could only sort everything I tasted into two columns:
- Eww, peaty.
- Ugh, not too peaty, I guess.
Of neither was I a fan.
Looking back, it reminds me of spending time with my family up north. My cousin, who was in kindergarten at the time but is now fully grown and married, knew only one word to describe any strong flavor in food: sour.
“Oh, I don’t like this fish! It’s so sour!”
Honey, that was a very clean blackened redfish.
“Oh, this chicken is good! It’s so sour!”
Sweetheart, that was fried chicken.
As I approach my 40th birthday, I am also just now realizing that this was literally 22 years ago. And I feel the need to go to bed.
All of that brings me to our Whiskey of the Week 002: Craigellachie 13.
The first time I saw the name, I confidently pronounced it “Craig uh lachee.” I was very wrong and, thank God, quickly (and without getting embarrassed by someone who knew how to pronounce it properly first) learned that it is pronounced “kray GELL uh kee.”
The name was not the only thing I misunderstood.
Craigellachie 13 was the whisky that first opened my eyes to the range of flavors Scotch could have. At the time, to me, Bourbon tasted like Bourbon, Irish whiskey tasted like Irish whiskey, and Scotch came in those same two varieties: peated and slightly less peated.
Then I found this one and thought, Hold up... I like this kind of peat.
Of course, after quite a few years exploring whisk(e)y on my own, followed by a few more spent in schooling and training, I now know that what I was tasting was not peat at all. It was Craigellachie’s smoky, sulfurous character. The two can seem remarkably similar to a beginner, but God, do they hit my palate differently now.
Among all those bottles I had mentally sorted by “level of peat,” Craigellachie 13 offered something more. Beneath its bold flavors, I could find layers, nuance and individual notes in a way I had not yet learned to do with other Scotches. It helped teach me how to actually taste Scotch, rather than simply deciding how “peated,” or more accurately, how smoky it was.
Nearly fifteen years later, even after developing a deep love for some of the biggest peat bombs on the market, Craigellachie 13 is still one of the bottles I return to again and again.
(image below borrowed from distillery website)
Awards:
2015: San Francisco Spirits Competition- Double Gold
2016: San Francisco Spirits Competition- Double Gold
2017: World Whisky Awards- Gold, Speyside Single Malt
2021: San Francisco World Spirits Competition- Double Gold
2021: International Wine & Spirit Competition- Gold
2022: San Francisco World Spirits Competition- Double Gold
2023: International Wine & Spirits Competition- Gold Outstnading, 98 Points
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Apple blossoms, slihglty meaty, roasted corn, cereal oats, grilled pineapple, pomme fruit, bright
Palate: oily malt, pine nuts, almonds, stewed berries, char
Finish: very soft hint of sulphur, sweet biscuits, and apple
Notes from the Distillery:
"A robust, muscular whisky with hoards of exotic fruits- a malt that defines the typical Speyside characteristics.
Initailly matured in a mixture of the ex-Bourbon & ex-Sherry casks. 50% of the "blend" is then finished in first-fill Sherry casks, the rest in first-fill Bourbon."
"Craigellachie 13 Year Old evokes Bonfire Night: aromas of oozing toasted marshmallows, fire-roasted pineapples, & baked apples studded with cloves, with the tang of cordite lingering in the background."
