Craigellachie 13 - Bas-Armagnac Cask Finish

The Maker

Craigellachie is one of those distilleries about which it’s rather difficult to say interesting things. This isn’t a criticism of the whisky, by most accounts it’s good stuff. Instead it’s more a comment about the history of the distillery itself.

Established in 1891, it wasn’t until 1898 that production really got going. In the centuries since it has passed between many owners, but in that time it has rarely been more than a ‘workhorse distillery’ pumping out significant quantities for major blends. Perhaps the most notable of these periods was the several decades under Diageo ownership where it was making significant contributions to products from the Johnnie Walker series. Which JWs is a little unclear however. The lighter nature of the spirit makes it harder to pick out in blends than the unmissable Caol Ila in JW Black for example.

Given that Diageo retained ownership into the late nineties it’s somewhat surprising, given its current reputation, that it was never included in the Classic Malts of Scotland range when launched in 1988. It would be interesting to understand why the likes of Cragganmore or Oban ended up in that series while Craigellachie remained relatively anonymous aside from its brief appearance in the Flora & Fauna range. I’ve not been able to find an explanation for the Classic Malts omission online beyond the desire to only have one from each region, nevertheless for whatever reason Diageo clearly had little confidence in the distillery. So little in fact that they eventually sold it in 1998 to Dewar & Sons [Bacardi] company, since when it has once again been playing a large part in Dewar’s blended whisky.

Despite this change of ownership relatively little happened at Craigellachie until 2014, which saw a substantive rebranding and launch of a new core range that included a 13yo, 23yo and an increasingly popular and expensive 17yo. These have all garnered a positive response from the whisky community, being noted for their distinctive pineapple and black pepper style.

A big part of this rebrand, as if so often the case, was the attempt to find something distinctive to say about the way Craigellachie produce their whisky. Afterall, if as we’ve seen there’s little especially exciting in your history maybe your processes are the answer? It certainly works for Mortlach with their Wee Witchie.

It seems that the marketing people at Bacardi came to the conclusion that the best place to focus was on the distillery still using worm tubs to cool the spirit. This is where a copper pipe (the worm) is coiled through a large barrel (the tub) filled with running water to help condense the vapour back into liquid so that it can then run through the spirit safe. While this sounds like a minor point given that other condensers are available, it’s nonetheless the traditional way. What’s more many writers with far more knowledge that me swear that it makes a significant positive difference.

I have to concede that they may well have a point. I couldn’t help but notice when looking at the 16 distilleries left in Scotland out of around 120 which still use worm tubs, that several of my favourites were there. This includes distilleries as diverse in character as Edradour; Mortlach; Springbank and Talisker. Perhaps the most interesting of these is Talisker, who choose to reinstall them after they the found the taste profile to have changed too negatively following their removal.

The Expression

Taking this worm tub focus to its natural conclusion is this bottle of 13yo Bas-Armagnac Cask Finish. This was a new addition to the core range in 2022 and also serves in what is advertised to be a new ‘Cask Collection’. Apparently the whole point of this series is to draw on casks from spirit producers from around the world who also still use worm tubs. In this case the casks come from northern Gascony and are used to finish a mixture of 12yo ex-bourbon and sherry casks for a little over a year. As with all core Craigellachie expressions this bottle is non-chill filtered, contains no caramel colouring and has been bottled at the ever favourable 46%.

The Neck Pour

The first thing to hit my is a strong hit of green apple. Then comes lots of sharp citrus fruits – principally lime. I think that between them that could be the much touted pineapple for at this stage for me it’s more akin to two separate things. This is followed up by tinned peaches in syrup. Finally there’s that ever present bourbon vanilla and a hefty dose of hand cream.

This creaminess continues in terms of texture. It’s thick with lots of body to it. If anything this instantly reminds me of worm tub favourite Mortlach - which is never a bad sign as far as I’m concerned. On the whole this is a very well rounded dram upon opening. There’s a pleasant woodiness towards the finish which isn’t too peppery or spicy yet but still filling its role nicely.

Put simply there aren’t any big flavours here yet. Instead it’s all very subtle. Not that that’s a bad thing. The brandy selling point is definitely there on the finish, but it’s not huge. It’s more like drinking whisky out of a glass that hasn’t been washed after a brandy was in it the night before. All told it’s rather enjoyable and very easy drinking. Dangerously so I fear. Could see it disappearing very easily if I’m not careful.

The Body

The more I’ve drunk of this the more prominent that brandy is getting. What was once just in the background is quickly becoming dominant. That change is bringing with it some hefty mincemeat. But that mix of apple and citrus that others may well call pineapple is still there. There’s also now a hint of wax in there that’s close to that strange hand cream note I described previously, but now edging more towards a Clynelish.

On the palate it’s much the same story. Maybe it’s just the nights drawing in this October but at this middle of the bottle is increasingly reminding me of those mince pies that have already appeared in supermarkets but I can’t yet justify buying. But it’s still very rounded, very pleasant and very very drinkable. Still really enjoying this.

Final Thoughts

I’ve managed to eek this bottle out into the new year and have very much enjoyed it. While I’ve not found anything new of note in the lower third of the bottle it’s nonetheless been well worth the search. This seems to be a solid addition to Craigellachie’s core range and it has definitely made me interested enough to try their standard 13 and 17yo expressions.

Hopefully we’ll see a few more of these brandy finishes in years ahead as I’m yet to encounter one I haven’t liked. I’m also curious just how far Craigellachie can push the worm tub connection. Maybe we’ll get some very odd things indeed from all around the world?