Craigduff 'Signatory 30th Anniversary' 1973 / 45 years old 45.4%

The Craigduff distillery has a curious past, originating as the heavily peated spirit from either the Glen Keith or Strathisla distillery in Keith, with historians arguing of where the spirit actually came from. To differentiate the whisky made in this unusually peaty style for the area, the distillery in question produced the spirit under the Craigduff name. The experiment was short-lived, and as a result there have only ever been an extremely small number of releases of the whisky, most famously by Signatory Vintage. Thought to be among some of the worlds only known casks of the distillery, this single ex-refill sherry butt was selected by Signatory to celebrate their 30th anniversary - an exceptionally rare and intriguing offering from the annals of Scotch whisky.

Tasting notes from Andrew Symington:

The original nose reveals baking notes (biscuit). Allowed to breathe, candied fruit (pears) and a light peat pierce this veil of sweetness. The lively attack is fruity (grape, lemon), roasted and honeyed (acacia). The well-balanced finish emphasizes an earthy peat (clay) and a very complex youthful expression (blueberry, cocoa, cinnamon).