Craigellachie

Sulphur has become an emotive subject in recent years, but it is one which is also misunderstood. There are two ways in which you can get sulphurous notes in whisky. One is through the burning of sulphur candles in casks to stop bacterial infection. Although this was once standard in Jerez with the rise of bespoke casks for the whisky industry the practice has now been outlawed.

The village of Craigellachie was an important hub in whisky’s history as it was here, in 1863, that the railway lines from Lossiemouth (north), Dufftown (south), Keith (east), and the Strathspey Railway (south west) met, allowing rail transport between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth within the region. Craigellachie’s distillery, however, was only built in 1890. Designed by Charles Doig, it was built with all modern conveniences with the express intention of making a lighter fruitier character than the older distilleries – one of the earliest descriptors of Craigellachie mentions pineapple as a desireable aroma. Its owners were Sir Peter Mackie (of White Horse) and Alexander Edward who though only 25 when the distillery was built was already the lessee of Benrinnes. He also owned a local brickworks, built new villas in the growing village and, in 1896, constructed a large hotel. He would go on to build Aultmore, Dallas Dhu and Benromach. Edward pulled out in 1900 to concentrate on those other interests, leaving Craigellachie in White Horse’s ownership. It was the core malt within Mackie’s Old Smuggler and Old Gaelic brands which were hugely successful in Australia and South Africa. White Horse – and therefore Craigellachie – became part of DCL but when that firm merged with IDV in 1998, the Monopolies Board insisted that it sell off some of its estate – specifically John Dewar & Sons and five distilleries, one of which was Craigellachie. They were snapped up by Bacardi which still owns the distillery.