This was a sherried Craigellachie single cask, bottled at cask strength for The Writing Club, a small whisky bar in Singapore with a great selection to commemorate their 4th anniversary. I have a bottle of the OB Craigellachie 13yo and 17yo at home, and I've drammed a couple of single cask Craigellachies before, one immensely heavily-sherried and another, ex-bourbon. So how does this compare?

Distillery: Craigellachie

Region: Speyside

Price: ~14USD/30ml

Cask Type: Ex-sherry

ABV: 51.7%

Chill-filtered: No

Color: 1.4, tawny.

Rested for ~20 minutes, before savoured slowly, neat in a snifter.

Nose: Dates, cinnamon, brown butter, but also lots of plums (unlike the other 2007 sherried Craigellachie I've had), Japanese rice crackers (senbei with that soy sauce and mirin glaze).

Palate: Nice rich texture, no astringency, miso, meat juices, rosemary, cocoa.

Finish: Long and warming lifted by a bit of vegetal essential-oily sharpness, dried persimmons, tinge of cloves, lemongrass.

Conclusion: As with other single cask Craigellachies I've tried, there seems to be butter on the nose. It is savoury-sweet, rich and balances between cask and spirit quite effectively. Unlike the more heavily-sherried Craigellachie 2007 I've had, this is quite a bit brighter on the nose. On the palate, it has a definite savoury funk to it, especially with the savoury fermented note of miso. This is not to say that it is not sweet at all. There is a touch of sweetness, but its the sort of sweetness wrapped in a bitter hit that you find in good unsweetened cocoa. I personally am not one for dessert drams so this is welcome but YMMV. This is a complex and challenging dram of great quality. I can't see myself drinking it everyday, but this does not mean it is not worthy of praise.

If it were named by the SMWS: Found in Translation

Score: 87

Scotch Review #31, Whiskey Network Review #33

H.Y.