A couple of weeks ago Dirk Jan Keijser of Whisky Center kindly sent me some samples from a tasting pack he’s selling with Versaille Dranken in Nijmegen, if I’m not mistaken. It contained some Glenfiddichs which I still have to taste, and two samples of Whisky Center’s own bottlings.

So far, I’ve tried the Whisky Center bottlings, and this post is the review of the youngest one. A 14 year old Craigellachie bottled quite recently. At a massive ABV, I might add. Of course, being the semi-professional whisky geek, I verified all my information on this before I tried it, so I wouldn’t be blown away by the alcohol percentage of this whisky. NOT, obviously.

Sniff:
A rather rich nose, with old wood and soil/dirt/earth. Steeped barley, with hints of pine and a whiff of resin. White bread with poppy seeds.

Sip:
A somewhat sweeter arrival, but the dryness builds. Pink peppercorns, some honey and quite a lot of oak.

Swallow:
The finish is rather classic. Slightly thin, with some straw and grass. Hints of oak, some pine resin.

For a 14 year old whisky this shows quite some character. Luckily the ABV wasn’t too hot, and showed itself mostly in the dryness on the palate.

Overall it’s a tad thin, and that’s my greatest complaint about the whisky. I like that it showed the notes of pine and resin, with poppy seeds and therefore a rather different approach to a lot of middle-of-the-road Craigellachies. Which, let’s be honest, Craigellachie mostly is.

86/100

Image and sample provided by Whisky Center, thanks a lot! It’s available there, too.