Bacardi adds 33yo Craigellachie to TR range

Bacardi Global Travel Retail has extended its collection of single malts available exclusively in the channel with the launch of Craigellachie 33 Year Old.

The limited edition, small-batch Scotch was distilled in 1983 and is said to offer a “rare Sherry finesse”, although details of the casks used in maturation have not been disclosed.

Tasting notes from Stephanie MacLeod, malt master and master blender for John Dewar & Sons include explosive ‘sulphory’ aromas, cereal complexity, exotic fruits and a long creamy finish.

Craigellachie 33YO is part of the Dewar’s Exceptional Cask Series, a collection of “extremely rare” ultra-premium aged whiskies available in limited runs and hand-selected by MacLeod.

The expression will be launched initially across European airports with Dufry-owned World Duty Free, including Heathrow, Gatwick Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Other Dufry stores in Europe will stock the whisky shortly, with other select retailers across Asia Pacific listing in later this summer.

“Craigellachie 33 is an especially exciting launch for us as part of our commitment to unlocking pockets of rare aged liquids within our strategy to lead the whisky category with quality, age and provenance,” said Mike Birch, Bacardi GTR managing director.

“The Craigellachie range is popular with experienced connoisseurs as a sought-after addition to their collections. With only 1,700 bottles produced this really is highly covetable treasure.”

Craigellachie 33YO is natural colour, non-chill-filtered and bottled at 46% abv in 70cl and 75cl formats, retailing at £2,000 (about US$2,300).

Last month, The Spirits Business visited the Craigellachie Distillery as part of a tour of Bacardi’s Scotch whisky sites. To see the trip in pictures, click here.