Craigallachie 18 Year Old

Speyside Single Malt Whisky / 18 Years Old / Hogshead / 56.6% abv / 50cl

Distilled the week before Christmas 2005. Eighteen years in a hogshead. Worm tubs that most distilleries gave up on long ago because they're harder to work with. Craigellachie kept theirs. Dark fruit, heather honey, a savoury depth you can't fake and a finish that earns its keep. Worth the wait, even if we weren't the ones doing the waiting.

Conspirator's Notes

Nose: Barbecued peach, heather honey, warm pastry straight from the oven. Then the worm tubs show up and remind you this isn't that kind of Speyside.

Palate: Toffee apple and dark fruit first, then a deep savoury kick that most of its neighbours would rather pretend doesn't exist. Black pepper, dried herbs and a slow-building richness that knows exactly what it's doing.

Finish: Long and meaty and not remotely sorry about it. Dark chocolate, a flick of brine and that Craigellachie backbone sitting at the back of the throat, perfectly comfortable, going absolutely nowhere.