Craigellachie 21 Year Old The Chess Malt Collection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 52.3%

Thirty-two bottles, thirty-two pieces. The Chess Malt Collection is built as a chess set where each distillery is assigned a role — and Craigellachie is not a pawn.

Expert description

Craigellachie 21 years The Chess Malt Collection is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a sherry butt and bottled at cask strength of 52.3%.

The whisky was distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2017. The collection consists of 32 unique single cask releases, each bottle representing a chess piece: two kings, two queens, four bishops, four knights, four rooks and sixteen pawns, split between black and white. Craigellachie condenses in worm tubs and makes a heavy, meaty spirit, which after twenty-one years in a sherry cask has gained both depth and a dark fruit sweetness without losing its mineral edge.

Tasting notes

Nose

Rich and inviting. Raisins, dark dried fruits, chocolate and spiced Christmas cake.

Palate

Powerful and complex, with layers of caramel, orange peel, nuts and dark chocolate, underpinned by tobacco notes and spiced oak.

Finish

Long and persistent with bittersweet fruit, chocolate and a touch of white pepper.

Specifications

Name: Craigellachie 21 years The Chess Malt Collection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 52,3%
Distillery: Craigellachie
Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 21 years
ABV: 52.3%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry butt
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 2017
Edition: The Chess Malt Collection

Flavour profile

Sherried · Dried Fruit · Chocolate · Spiced · Cask Strength

Investment potential

High. Twenty-one years in one sherry cask within a collection that exists only in 32 releases. The Chess Malt Collection is actively collected as a whole, and individual pieces get hard to find quickly.

Did you know?

The chess pieces in the collection are not assigned at random. The rarer and older the whisky, the higher the rank it receives — so a king or queen in the series is at the same time a signal of what is in the bottle.

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Frequently asked questions about Craigellachie 21 years The Chess Malt Collection

What is The Chess Malt Collection?

A collection of 32 single cask whiskies, each bottle representing a piece on a chessboard. The distribution follows the board: two kings, two queens, four bishops, four knights, four rooks and sixteen pawns, in black and white.

What makes a twenty-one year old Craigellachie special?

The age gives the distillery's meaty, mineral style time to meet the sherry cask. You get dried fruit and chocolate over a core that still carries flint and spice — a balance the younger releases do not reach.

Is it worth collecting?

The collection is closed at 32 bottles, and an individual piece cannot be remade. The combination of an old single cask and a series people try to complete keeps demand steady.

Should I add water?

At 52.3% a couple of drops can open the dark fruit. Give it ten minutes in the glass first — twenty-one years in sherry wood needs air before it shows its full width.

What is a sherry butt?

The largest common cask in Scotch whisky, around 500 litres, previously filled with sherry. The large volume gives slow maturation, which suits more than two decades of ageing.

What does Craigellachie taste like generally?

Heavy, oily and faintly sulphurous with tropical fruit building over the years. It is one of the least typical Speyside malts — see the rest of the region in our Speyside Whisky.