Single Malt 1st Fill Sherry Hogshead 'Full Cask' No 180000043
⏳ Drinking Window
As a distilled spirit, this does not mature further in the bottle and is ready to be enjoyed upon release, remaining stable for decades if stored properly away from direct sunlight.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
blue cheese, dark chocolate, roasted venison
✨ Technical Specifications
Craigellachie is often described as the stubborn, old-school rebel of Speyside. Founded in 1891 by the legendary 'Restless Peter' Mackie and Alexander Edward, the distillery has famously resisted modern efficiency in favor of character. Its signature heavy, meaty, and sulfurous spirit is the result of traditional copper worm tubs—coiled condensing pipes cooled in cold water tanks—which limit copper contact and preserve the robust, savory compounds of the distillate. When this muscular spirit is filled into a first-fill Sherry hogshead, a magnificent alchemy occurs. The active European oak, saturated with rich sherry, tempers the spirit's fiery edge, wrapping it in luxurious layers of dark chocolate, stewed plums, clove, and roasted nuts. Cask No 180000043 represents a single-cask expression of this dramatic synergy, offering an uncompromisingly bold and complex dram that showcases Craigellachie’s defiant, full-bodied heritage.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1891 by whisky pioneers Peter Mackie and Alexander Edward, Craigellachie Distillery commands a prominent position on a rocky outcrop overlooking the confluence of the Rivers Spey and Fiddich. Designed by renowned Victorian architect Charles Doig, the distillery purposely eschews contemporary distillation trends, championing an archaic, full-bodied spirit style. Drawing soft processing water from the nearby Blue Hill, the distillery employs oil-fired maltings, traditional wooden washbacks, and distinctive exterior copper worm tub condensers. By restricting copper-to-vapor contact during condensation, Craigellachie captures robust, heavy, and sulphurous aromatic compounds that evolve into a uniquely muscular single malt marked by savoury, meaty notes accented by luscious tropical pineapple. Under parent owner Bacardi (John Dewar & Sons) and multi-award-winning Malt Master Stephanie Macleod, the distillery balances its legacy role in premium blends with benchmark age-stated single malts—notably its core 13-Year-Old, 17-Year-Old, and rare vintage cask bottlings—all presented non-chill-filtered at natural strength.
🍇 Base Material
Malted Barley