ralfy review 919 - Craigellachie 17yo @46%vol: (04-6137)

[@Ivo--]

One thing that tickles my nerd fancy is that all of their releases (13, 17, 19, 23, 31) are prime numbers.

[@luispalacio2080]

nice

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

The 13 is an outstanding malt with weight and a unique dark complexity which at this time makes it a favorite; add that to the fact that it currently sells for less than $50 USD and I'd suggest it's a bottle every Malt-Mate should try. I honestly think it's one of the best values going today. That being said, I've not tried anything else in their range, and this 17 is pretty thin on the ground where I live, and sells in excess of $150 if you can find it (I've seen it for over $200), which may be par for the course in 2022, but is in my Uncomfortable Zone, so it may not be one I'll get around to buying, but I'd love to try it someday ✌️

[@Sidmacher]

I picked a bottle of this up at the airport for £56! Absolute steal for that money. 👍🥃👌

[@WhiskyNotesCS]

Ohh!! I love this Whisky 😃 Old School profile and excellent taste!

[@lyacoubian]

Lately I've purchased bottles of Arran 10 and Kilkerran 12 based on your reviews. And I'm so glad I did. Thanks Ralfy. Your expertise and honesty precede you.

[@Andy_Holbrook332]

Cracking dram’s , both of them!

[@ThyCorylus]

Good call, the Arran 10 is always on my shelf and managed to get hold of a Kilkerran 12 myself too.

[@RomainRiviere]

I wish Ralfy could review the 23 one day. My favorite scotch so far.

[@Metalguitarpete]

Your opening discussion on batch variation whilst not simply accepting a bottle on past glories. I have recently opened a new bottle of Springbank 10 batch date of 18/01/22. Not only did I find it not as good as previous bottles, I found it unpleasant, sour, hot and un engaging. Many of my whisky friends have recoiled in horror at my reaction to this bottle but I am 100% certain that most experienced malt mates would agree in a blind tasting. On Craigallchie, I absolutely live the 13 but never tasted the 17. I’ll put that right soon. Thanks for another great review

[@alessandroschiavon1237]

The 13 has been one of most pleasant surprises on my malt journey so far! I tasted it side by side with a Tomatin 12. The Craigellachie really impressed me a lot

[@hermanboerakker-ub2se]

I had them both and I must say that the tomatin 12 year old did not suprise me more then the craigelachie.. that is also my favorite since then.. and been on a yourney with tasting all different whiskeys .. some were good but also some were very dissatisfying..

[@911JB32]

Thank you Ralfy! Craigellachie was om my wishlist since your review in 2017. This morning I bought a bottle at the Whiskybase shop in Rotterdam and now I am enjoying a dram while watching your 2022 review. Keep up the good work!

[@utoobia]

Love the Craigellachies. It’s almost as if the nose has a physical texture to it. Very unique.

[@DonnerPassWhisky]

Really enjoyed my bottle of this a few years ago. I found that the 13, 17, 23 all have there own unique personalities. Yes there are similarities as they are the same distillate but they are unique enough from each other to be very interesting. Only had two samples of the 23 but it is exquisite. However quite expensive. Older stock is still on the shelves in the US for $260 but that is still pretty high. What it is currently going for at $400+ is way out of line for me. Cheers Ralfy. Oh, by the way in Germany the 13 is labeled without caramel color but not sure about the 17 ?

[@chentim1751]

Honest review is your best brand mark! Thanks so much for another great review!

[@deeshmond]

Sounds like my kind of dram. Also (7:35) their website says there’s no caramel colouring and it’s non chill-filtered.

[@Sagaris380]

The 13 is one of my favorites what a smashing good dram. Thanks Ralfy!

[@TorNielsen124]

Really like this malt, thanks for sharing 👍

[@tussk.]

After much research and experimentation, i have discovered that eating digestives in bed is the best way to annoy my wife.

[@simonsherratt1484]

😂

[@geo5291]

Drinking digestifs works too! Altho, I have no wife.

[@geo5291]

It's some1 else's

[@RebMordechaiReviews]

It reminds me of the Tea biscuit Dunk challenge. You dunk your biscuit in the tea whilst being timed. The person who can keep their biscuit in the tea for the longest amount of seconds and still manage to remove it in tact without it disintegrating into the tea, wins the pot. The tea pot.

[@SaltyCuban]

I think the equivalent to these digestives in S. Florida are called Maria cookies.

[@Im-out.Boomer]

Wow, not sure how I missed this review however I have the same batch! Moreover, I've had the bottle since before COVID and purchased it from Duty Free at Manchester airport on our way to Krakow. Got a liter of 13 on sale along with it. My wife talked me into buying them because she had personally floated the Peak District's economy for the previous 5 days! Both very good whiskies and definitely not "typical."

[@BrickFilmsCinema]

Damn straight Ralfy! Blind sentimentality is dangerous beyond just the whisky industry. We all have to be aware, knowledgeably, and picky consumers to maintain and improve the standard of quality.

[@tagontag]

Concur with many remarks left my fellow malties - there is nothing to lose for getting a 13 year old instead. For a 17 year old, I found its finish more robust than the 13, adding a long and toffee note that soothe a cold and windy night. However, I would have 2 bottles of 13 year old instead - the price jump was too steep.

[@JazznRealHipHop]

Craigellachie 13 and 17 are always in my bar, it’s just quality stuff you can tell and has a palate that doesn’t get boring. In fact the 13 surprisingly out of all the single malts in the world was the first scotch I ever had and set me on a journey 🥃

[@Houman7]

I’ve only have a bottle of 23 which is simply one of the most elegant single malts I’ve ever had and need to note that it is unique and characterful. I’ll be definitely checking out 13 and 17.

[@sandrofazzolari8833]

Dear Ralfy, I have been a fan of Craigellechie for years and always have their 13 yo on my shelf. This 17 yo which I had a bottle of , is equally delicious in my view. I have some Tobermory 12 in my glass tonight and some St. Bruno’s in my pipe. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and wisdom. Kindest regards, S.

[@Andre-nt4dn]

Thanks for the review. I have the Craigellachie 13, and that one is really great !

[@pointthree3]

I think another useful biscuit is the Custard Cream. Pops up fairly often, notably for me in the NAS Longrow I tasted recently.

[@dram_kruzhok]

As a big fan of Craigellachie 13, this sounds like the type of "difficult" malt that I would enjoy. The 13 clearly states "non-chill filtered" and is not colored, albeit we know that implicitly by the lack of mention in countries where it's required to be disclosed. So it's a "craft presentation" while not adequately transparent in the disclosure. I wonder if the distillery would lower those standards on their higher priced versions? Never seen the 17 anywhere on the shelves, sadly.

[@alexandersunter4899]

Oh! Boy! You hit the nail on the head. Lots of negativity about what’s happening in the Scotch whisky world. Thank goodness for Bruichladdich and Ardbeg Ralfy. Makes me think it really blended whisky purporting to be single malt ( no that’s an insult to blended)I’m so glad you tell it as it is. Keep up the good work.

[@Mike-fg2gl]

The new quality. Although going back a few years now...

[@ironmantran]

Agreed 100 % on your explanation on "negativity" issues ( indeed a civilized rant). I am probably your generation, ... with the heavy bourbon-matured and price gouging industry, i am drifting towards rums . . . now, diggin back to my old stock: opening a Rare Malt 1974 Auchroisk 28y CS 56.8% for 125$CAD ( ~70ukp) in 2004 . . . aaaah, the lost olden / halcion days.

[@billyboy9810]

I love the 13, and this is excellent as well. The jump in price between the 13 and this is a big one so the 13 is my go to for my own budget. There are some fantastic young affordable drams out there in my price range and I would buy this again if I get my day off in at work and have some spare cash. Great honest review as always Ralfy, cheers!

[@davet7185]

You had me going there Ralfy; thought I was on the verge of a Malt of the Year contender 😉. Great review (as always your down to earth, pragmatic but ultimately seasoned palette paints for us the malt-nificant landscape that is Craigellachie). Alas, the 17 is beyond the pocket spend but at least I can aspire to the 13 year old 🙂.

[@welshtoro3256]

Have no fears Dave. I actually prefer the 13 to the 17.

[@davet7185]

@@welshtoro3256 Thanks for the recommendation malt mate (thumbs up).

[@blindtomuk]

Up until recently I had never tried any of their whisky despite hearing it was good. For some reason never go around to it. At Christmas I was given a scratch card poster of things to scratch off when I tried them. Craigellachie was among them so it seemed a good time to try. Not doing things by half I went straight in with the 17 at an Edinburgh bar. Very glad I tried it. Loved it and just an excellent whisky

[@neilynmafan3975]

Nice one Ralfy. Remembered I had an unopened bottle of this malt marvel so tasted with you. Digestives! Yep. Reminds me of a digestive biscuit butter sandwich. Heaven . Cheers fella.

[@johnw1597]

Great video as always Ralfy. I've tried the 13 but never had this one. Will add it to the ever growing list! Going on from what you said about going down the divisions for better quality, I will also say with the way things are availability wise it would be good to look further down the divisions. Look at the likes of Springbank/Kilkerren, you struggle to get any, but there are some fantastic malts out there readily available for a decent price too. Cheers mate, take care!

[@dleeandhow]

Speaking for myself only. The transparency is much appreciated.

[@joetrigg5378]

I think it’s that we come to KZbin to relax, get away from everything after a busy day at work and watch whisky video’s, not listen/watch you having a moan and watching a negative 15 minute video all the time. Totally get your frustration, still love watching your videos but Scotch for dummies as an example will explain the negatives or mention it in their score but they don’t allow their videos to come away from an easy watch and will mention detail about the distillery and what they’re getting more than them having an opportunity to moan about the distillery/whisky. I hope that makes sense.. And I loved this video 👍👏 adding this to my list to try/buy and I wondered why biscuits were on your log burner at the start of the video 😂

[@darryljones9515]

All the German online retailers state that this is without added colour.

[@farshadp6114]

Greeting Ralfy and thank you once again for this great extra. I am sitting in front of my whisky cabinets and looking at them trying to point out my disappointment, hope they were just a bad badge and a one off thing. First one that really shocked me is Glen Devron 16 yr old,have had it for more than 2 years and every few months I pour a bit hoping it is better now but still as bad as it was before.Another example is Jura 12. Surprisingly Glenkinchie 12, I know its 10 year old is one of the classic malt of Scotland but 12 is not pleasant at all.And king of disappointment for me is The Macallan, I believe I have mentioned ot a few times. What haven't disappointed me yet are the Irish whiskies, any Teeling I pick I enjoy, reasonable price 46% bottling and widely available.

[@darkoanton5]

It's a superb whisky. A question that I have had on my mind for a number of years is: Other than the four extra years of storage, why does this whisky cost 2.5 times more than the 13? Are the casks better? Is the distillate better?

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . no, just extra time in casks.

[@JR-nl3mh]

Monday night, Ralfy in the Isle of Man and Federico in Miami. Lovely.

[@Tantrum777]

The entire range is great but the prices have shot up!@

[@steveanderson3444]

Wait a minute, are you indicating marketing would bullshit us? No, trust me, everything is fine. Lol After years of passing by the 13 year, last month I decided to take a chance on this wallflower, sitting there on the shelf, for our last Island City Malt Mateys meeting. We featured your review as we were tasting, and everyone was quite impressed. Some of us who enjoy Old Pulteny 12 (of which we haven't been able to get for about 2 years now) loved the reminisce floating in the corners of that one. I will definitely put this one on my list for future tasting.

[@simonsherratt1484]

Hey Ralfy, I know you're adventurous when it comes to experimenting with your own blends. Last night I was sipping a young Caol Ila, ex bourbon matured. It was fine although a little uninteresting, so I added a splash of Bruichladdich's Classic Laddie. Delicious! And very interesting too. I suggest you give it a try. Also, how about a Ralfy extras in which you recommend some of your own home made blends?

[@theboyheedmackay2229]

I’ve had a few decent whisky purchases in the petrol station in Craigellachie.

[@Johnstone72]

God bless ye Ralfy. The good money I've wasted on Shuch. Where would we be without ye? Lighter in the pocket and denied our good Single Malt.

[@Dan-hn1lx]

Enjoy this one Ralfy, this distillery does things right and I can imagine this one is very nice and hits the right spots. Slainte

[@pfalzgraf7527]

At least the text provides factual information and not some flannel about rolling hills and sunsets which I will certainly not be able to taste. What I also have to say: I watched this video the first time when I just came from a fairly hearty meal - so I was not hungry ag all. And Ralfy’s description of bisquits made my mouth water like hardly any Whisky ever does!

[@farshadp6114]

Ralfy is not happy and neither am I. 😁 Greeting from down under dear Ralfy. I love it when I don't have the whisky you are reviewing and immediately I start googling it. I have the 13 yr old and it is so good, unfortunately a bit difficult to find the 17 yr old. It has already gone on my wish list. 😉

[@dram_kruzhok]

I wonder if "digestive biscuits" as a taste/nosing note would be comparable to the American "graham cracker", I certainly think so. And that is a great flavor in whisky.

[@TheSwissAl]

Ralfy Biscuit / whisky matching would be a good wheeze. Rich Tea with a Glengoyne perhaps or a Glen Scotia 15 with a fig roll !!

[@MaLiCeCoLtRaNe]

The 17 hasn’t made it to my shops, but I found the 13 to be a quite distinctive taste, not unlike Edradour, combining an unusual but not unpleasant sulfuric quality (I presume from the worm tubs?) with a more classic speyside green apple freshness. Does the 17 have this? Also, how would you compare the official bottling with the Cadenhead expressions? (I saw a cadenhead Craigellachie bottling in a shop not too long ago).

[@MaLiCeCoLtRaNe]

@@Foxx-pb8iv sounds like something worth trying!

[@iceparadox369]

Stop I’m gonna cry. I saw a bottle 17 few days ago, next day it was gone. I got a redbreast PX for st Patrick’s day and should have just gotten both

[@matthewreinke2047]

Another great video Ralfy. By the way, just finished your updated book and it was quite entertaining. I don’t believe for one minute though that you have only had one Philosopher’s picnic. I am going to guess it’s the only one out of a hundred you wrote about ;-) Cheers!

[@andrewblatherwick8758]

Hey Ralfy, is there a pending review and malt-mark on the Digestives? Big brand name so they should be an integrity presentation.

[@egrsok9388]

Yay! Whiskies are not getting worse and worse!

[@mrnosebear7406]

I really enjoyed your review about a distillery that I am not familiar with. I need to wipe out this blackspot by buying a bottle of the Craigellachie 13. I need to start somewhere. Please go on doing fine reviews and show us where to look nowadays for hidden treasures . Keep it quality and not quantity. No time gulping and guzzling. Cheers from now

[@geraldhugley3618]

My first scotch, 6 years ago, was Craigellechie 13. I got cinnamon, banana, sulfer. Still one of my favorites.

[@geraldhugley3618]

Plus the bottle improves with time.

[@olhemi1]

I enjoyed a dram, and watched 🙂👍☕

[@SaltyCuban]

Main issue aside from price from reviewers , is that it’s relatively similar to the 13. For those finding it at £60 it’s a deal, for the rest of us see it at @ £110. That’s basically double the 13. Considering the price difference is it really worth it?

[@allanwhittle3041]

Top whisky Top review ..Akways !! The main man 👍

[@kevinbartlett9499]

Enjoying this series Ralfy RE: official bottlings but you've got me thinking. You argue your case about value in the lesser known distilleries. That being said I'd love to known your thoughts on such malts as Teannich, Inchgower, Glen Ord and Dailuaine. These whiskies often present themselves in the Signatory range at 46%, un-chillfiltered at very reasonable prices. Is this something you might look at in the future?

[@HostileButHonourable]

Does the digestive bikky dunk well in the dram?...

[@hyperdram]

On the bottle that I have it does not state non-chill filtered. It does say it on the tube. Ralfy is now disregarding packaging and only acknowledging what is on the bottle. This is good. Distilleries need to put this information where it matters - on the bottle. If it doesn't say non-chill filtered on the bottle, assume that it is.

[@ChrisPBacon-mo9ln]

I’m pretty sure I remember this malt-mention….might it be a re-mention?

[@mrnosebear7406]

Yeah, I have the same feeling. But never mind.

[@ChrisPBacon-mo9ln]

@@mrnosebear7406 Exactly. As long as Sir Ralfy is in a good mood (like in this specific case) he could also skip the mention, as far as I’m concerned 🙂

[@economicsjingle]

What makes you say it's chill filtered if it looks hazy in the bottle?

[@warhamsterful]

Well thats a pricey bottle here in aus.. Will have to save some pennies before i can give it a shot :D

[@papaown]

Do you have any ideas for your 1000th review Ralfy? Great vid as usual. Been following for roughly 10 years. Congrats.

[@lukasjager2085]

I think that statement of the finely-grained malt having an impact on the taste is pure marketing. In my experience as a homebrewer grinding your malt finer gives you a higher mash efficiency. If you overdo it you grind the husks of the malt too finely and extract tannins that give the beer some rather unpleasant astringency and grainyness. Other than that, grinding finer does not change the taste of the beer. I could imagine that they grind the malt very finely for efficiency reasons and filter out the tannins during destillation but I think the form of the mash tun and the terroir of the grain have a bigger influence on the taste than the mill setting for the grain. Or my knowledge of beer making is not applicable to whisky making. Or Craigellachie knows some mashing secrets that I have yet to discover...

[@jackfeifer2501]

I can’t believe you didn’t mention the citrus notes, check your pallet! The citrusy almost Orange flavor that comes through is very prominent…

[@Themilkmanskid.]

Bourbon in competition with scotch. Has power but not enough in the scotch direction. A bit thick, but not syrupy. Comparing price the 13 is better especially for sweetness, if you like that. The biscuit thing is cool.

[@vandemon9643]

This dram takes the biscuit. Digest that.

[@SirGordonJ]

Just starting out in tasting. When you guys are talking about chilli vs pepper spice, are you referring to flavour or where the spice hits you in the mouth. Sometimes think I sense pepper but haven't been able to detect any chilli.

[@frixux]

Made a f... list of best whiskies Quality vs prices

[@Shane4Bass]

Watching this while sipping a KA VA LAN Sherry Cask and boy did it take over a month of oxidation to settle down

[@ursoouindio]

What about those Craigellachie Exceptional Cask series?

[@SidequestBear]

Think I’d have to add Hobnobs to your biscuit list

[@alancats]

More and more, I'm coming to appreciate Scotch distilleries such as Aultmore, Glenfarclas and a few others that don't chill-filter or add caramel coloring to their whiskies. I think that both practices are totally indefensible. Chill-filtering impacts flavor, and, caramel coloring prevents drinkers from learning and understanding how a given cask type and length of maturation affects the whisky's color. I was disappointed that Glendronach recently began chill-filtering their whisky. Craigellachie doesn't chill-filter, but, the canister for the 17 doesn't mention coloring, so, I'll assume that it does have caramel color added. The Craigellachie 17 is hard to find; I bought a couple of bottles last year and am saving them for a future tasting. The 13-year-old is a great deal, though, as it can be had for around $65.

[@jimmclachlan5941]

I'm sure glenfarclas chill filter to a certain Point cause even the 15 yo stays clear when water added.

[@jimmclachlan5941]

Because my tobermories , signatories and my other non chill filtered whiskies always cloud up with added water.

[@petrsladek3743]

Nice whisky but for 110 EUR is not every day dram for many people…

[@Marcus-qw9sx]

These days I think these quieter brands are the ones to go for. I believe a lot of distilleries are overproducing and are starting to sacrificing quality now while they can get away with it. I've turned my gaze towards world whiskies instead as of late and have started to shun some Scotch distilleries now.

[@dram_kruzhok]

"When you nose it, you knows it" 😂

[@clubwhiskyiasi5770]

Mister Ralfy, what difference will bring those 17 minutes in the glass after soooooooo many days in an open bottle?

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . air exposure and a little water to release locked-up flavour within the alcohol.

[@raulalfonsin9975]

We love ralfy

[@n.k.4678]

I can´t find a single word about colour od filtration in my bottle.

[@garynapolitano1270]

I recently obtained a bottle of Glen Gariach 12 at half the price of this one. Would pay double for this over the Glen Gariach?

[@NSAJ33]

Hell I can't find it near me.. :(

[@900nrg]

hmm craigellachie used to be in white horse blends

[@jackharris4697]

About $ 180.00 US Dollars here in the STATES.

[@jurek8591]

$139.99 here in Illinois at liquor barn store

[@Northernbreed1738]

$130 in MI. Seems ovepriced compared to the $50 13YR here. But when has that stopped me?

[@roberthodge6711]

All whiskies with added color are disqualified from my buy lists. Added color is ridiculous nowadays.

[@stevenhallberg2985]

Greetings Ralfy. I don't know where to submit a malt mention so I will do it here. From your Monolithic maltalithic Maltacalorfragalistic Malt mate Steven

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . now on the M-mention List, thanks !

[@robfut9954]

Rally, how much was this bottle? I’m curious what it costs local to you compared to here in the US.

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . .£105

[@loganclemons4961]

Ralfy!!! I’m dying to know if you have plans for your 1000th review!? You’re getting awful close. But if I had to guess I bet you do and you’re being cheeky and keeping it a secret. Anyway can’t wait to see what you do! Cheers mate!

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . can't say much at the moment.

[@loganclemons4961]

@@thewhiskybothy cheeky indeed! 😜 Can’t wait to see. Cheers!

[@swanandarole]

Had tried a bottle of the 13 yo...was nice. Onwards to the 17 yo. Had seen a 33 yo, atrociously priced🤣

[@maxwong6222]

This one's going for the equivalent of £125 where I'm located 😭

[@Ivo--]

I don't think those batch codes are real. It's all the same number.

[@RomainRiviere]

Malty meeny miny moe

[@jasonwilley1995]

Ralfy should do a range of food reviews that complement boozy drinks.

[@TheRealJoseramirez]

I'm a single malt beginner but.....I regard myself as somewhat of an expert in Rich Tea biscuits. I refuse to pay McVities exorbitant prices so here's my top three own-brand products. No 1 Aldi very good, especially at the price. No 2 Coop & No 3 Sainsbury's. Both good. Do NOT buy Tesco's. They are horrible. It's like eating sawdust.

[@RebMordechaiReviews]

Jose. Have you tried Rakusans? Yummy...

[@TheMetalGBG]

Bisquit review number ? ;)

[@michaelgonzalez347]

Sounds very good. Going to have to try this. Maybe side by side with the 13 year old. Thanks

[@martywong822]

This one is just too expensive. Cannot afford.

[@Danevv]

Malty macaques from Mauritius

[@geo5291]

Screw contrived quests for positivity. Real is good. Whatever that happens to be.