In the heart of Speyside, nestled amongst the rugged Highland landscapes, overlooking the River Spey, you’ll find the Craigellachie distillery.

Those of you who enjoy a wee dram or two, particularly a single malt, will likely already be familiar with the impressive whiskies produced by Craigellachie. If you’re not however, you seriously should try them as soon as you can, because you’re in for a real treat.

The distillery itself is in the heart of Speyside, and is owned by Dewar & Sons, which is a subsidiary of Bacardi. ‘Craigellachie’ means ‘rocky hill’ with the distillery getting its name from the rugged cliff that overlooks the distillery by the banks of the Spey.

Built in 1891, the distillery is complete with 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills, with a max capacity of 4,000,000 litres of alcohol each year. While the distillery has released a number of whiskies in their cask collection, it is the 13-year-old Armagnac cask finish that whisky lovers have been particularly excited about. This, incidentally, also happens to be the tipple we’re going to be learning more about today.

Not Your Typical Whisky

While single malt fans are never short of options when it comes to new whiskies to sample, it’s safe to say that, for the most part at least, most generic single malts don’t really stand out or offer anything that dozens of other similar blends offer.

Occasionally however, you encounter a real hidden gem, and the Craigellachie 13-year-old Armagnac cask finish certainly fits that criteria.

Initially matured in a combination of refill and re-char ex-bourbon barrels, this whisky is then finished for one year in Bas Armagnac casks from France. This gives the whisky amazing body and complexity.

This whisky will appeal to seasoned whisky drinkers and more casual single malt fans. It doesn’t try to be something that it isn’t, it’s simply a delicious and complex Scotch from a highly reputable distillery with years of experience behind them.