Crabbie 8 Years Old (46%, John Crabbie & Co., 2018)

• Category: Highland single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: undisclosed distillery
• Bottling: John Crabbie & Co.
• ABV: 46%
• Cost: £30

What they say

At some point in the 1970s, John Crabbie & Co stopped producing their whiskies – but in early 2018, they returned to the fray! As their own distillery in Edinburgh gets up and running, they released a pair of single malt whiskies from undisclosed distilleries, including this 8 Year Old expression (and a 30 Year Old, too). It’s based around their original 8 Year Old Blend produced long ago, but intriguingly a bit different…

Official tasting notes:

• Nose: Caramel, raisin and honey-coated peanuts.
• Palate: Buttered scones, waxy orange peel and a touch of cassia.
• Finish: Lingering orange oil sweetness.

What I say

Door #8 of the Drinks by the dram Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar.

This single malt whisky hails from an undisclosed Highland distillery and is said to represent the style of their old 8 year old blend.

These days John Crabbie & Co are more famously known for their Ginger Beer, however the man himself was one of the major shareholders (along with Andrew Usher and William Sanderson) who setup the North British Grain distillery in Edinburgh in 1885. Each being major whisky blenders interested in securing a source of quality grain whisky for their blends.

Crabbie’s have a planned distillery in Leith set to open early in 2019.

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Full amber gold (10/20), slow, medium tears, strong, fine legs.
• Nose: Heady dried fruit, waxy, beeswax candles, apple skin and orange zest, heather honey, gristy cereal malt.
• Taste: Fresh apple and zesty dried orange peel/oil, thick and unctuous on the palate with some butter and plenty of beeswax, fudge, caramelised sugar, honey-nut cornflakes, some spices, white pepper & cinnamon.
• Finish: Medium-long, waxed oranges, a little drying and lingering spice

Overall

Quite a full palate on this one for only 8 years old. Certainly being delivered at 46% lends it some weight. Quite waxy which had me thinking of Clynelish. Zesty orange and apple with honey and a little too much spice for me, however if they aim to produce blends like this they’ll certainly be entertaining and interesting.

Score 83/100

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