Menu
Book Now
Packages
Menu
Book Now
Packages
Journal

Latest news from
The Craigellachie Hotel

We have exciting news! 💚 We’re thrilled to announce that Speyfly Gin is a finalist for Best New Product of the Year at the Scottish Gin Awards! 🍸 We are on a mission to bring the Speyside lifestyle and the unique botanicals of this region to a global audience, and we are so grateful for this recognition. And of course, a huge thank you to our amazing Speyside community for their constant support and inspiration! If you would like to enjoy a taste of Speyfly, secure a bottle: https://lnkd.in/dfETjwRE and join us in the excitement ahead of the awards on October 30th!

Journal

We are nominated at the Scottish Gin Awards!
Last week at the Craigellachie Hotel we had an amazing outdoor event with Gregor from @raasaydistillery at our Spey Shack. We were offering some delicious BBQ food, cocktails, slushies and drams. One of those drams was the whisky of the week I’m talking about here, the Raasay Slàinte Club release from this year, which was matured in Rye and Amontillado. The Slàinte Club from Raasay is a great way to get news from the distillery and get some other benefits, including amazing bottles like this one. We will leave a link on stories if you would like to sign up. The whisky itself has fantastic DNA that runs through all Raasay, as well as a lonely toffee and fruit note. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 2nd September
Glen Mhor 1965 🥃 Two weeks and two closed distilleries—this time, one from a little further away from home, in the form of Glen Mhor. Glen Mhor was one of the Inverness distilleries. Inverness had a rich whisky distilling history, which by the 1990s had sadly all but disappeared, though not forgotten. Fortunately, whiskies like this amazing 1965 Glen Mhor are still being released, keeping that history alive. There is also a glimmer of hope for Inverness’s whisky tradition, as the Uile-Bheist distillery opened in the city a couple of years ago, producing both single malt and beer. This whisky has a slight earthy peat note as well as a lovely caramel sweetness. It’s a sip of history in a bottle. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 26th August
This is another whisky from a lost distillery, this time hailing from just across the river from us at the Old Imperial. The story of Imperial is one of poor timing and an amazing single malt that was realised. It was built in 1897, just before the Pattison whisky crash, which meant it was only open for two years before being mothballed in 1899. This part of the distillery's history reflects the rest of it. In 2013, the Imperial was demolished, and a new distillery, Dalmunach, was planned for the site. There is a lovely old note to this whisky, with vanilla and apple coming through. A whisky that never got its time, but a brilliant one nevertheless. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 19th August
WHISKY OF THE WEEK - 5th August

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 12th August
This is a bit of a special and different whisky of the week, this time Glen Flagler. Glen Flagler was set up in the Garnheath’s grain distillery in Airdrie, one of many that was erected inside of a grain facility in the 1960s. The distillery was primarily designed to be used in blends as a compliment to the grain spirit from Garnheath, but you can find a few bottles of this rare single malt floating around. The distillery only produced whisky for 22 years and closed in 1988. This whisky has a slight peat note and is almost like an old leather book in the best way possible. This is a chance to try a very rare and amazing dram. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 5th August

Journal

Speyfly Gin is back in stock!
This year has proven to be a very significant year for a lot of distilleries, with many around us here at The Quaich celebrating 200 years since their founding. If we go a little further away from Speyside and head to Campbeltown, we can find the Glengyle Distillery celebrating 20 years since its founding in 2004. Built by the same company as Springbank, Glengyle was revived after its closing in 1925. This made the third distillery in Campbeltown and helped the region hold on to its regional status and one of the 5 in Scotland. The heavily peated edition is exactly what it sounds like: full of smoke, a lovely sea brine, and the standard Campbeltown funk, which we have come to know and love in the smallest region in Scotland. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 29th July
One for the golf fans out there (which I am not). Golf is tied to Scotland at the hip and is one of the first things people think of when they picture our beautiful country. This Loch Lomond is a special edition celebrating the 152nd Open at Royal Troon in Scotland. Loch Lomond is known for being a very experimental distillery producing pretty much any style of whisky you could think of and also using different styles of yeasts and casks. This whisky has been matured in a Chardonnay wine cask and comes with a lot of honey, apple, vanilla and pears. The finish also comes with a milk chocolate and citrus note, which makes this whisky perfect after a long day on the golf course.

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 23rd July
When you think of Scotland, I’m sure whisky is one of the first things that come to mind and then I’m sure tartan bagpipes and midges follow but what about Vikings? Vikings had a huge influence on Scotland, and still to this day we celebrate our connection to them and the shared history we have with them. Even for me personally, my ancestors came along from Denmark hundreds of years ago, but why am I talking about Vikings in a whisky of the week? That is because this whisky from Wolfburn is called Langskip, which is one of the old Viking longboats, and well also because I like talking about Vikings. Wolfburn is one of the northernmost distilleries on mainland Scotland located all the way up in Thurso. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 15th July
When I turned 18, living in Aberdeen, there weren’t many chances to work in whisky, so I worked in a supermarket till I could figure out a path to what I really wanted to do. That path for me came in the form of a University degree in International hospitality management. During this degree, I was given the opportunity to work on Islay at a hotel, which I jumped at. I still remember the first time visiting Bruichladdich and seeing what the amazing world of the distillery was like. Bruichladdich is of all different kinds, from Islay Barely’s to Black Arts, not to mention the Port Charlottes and Octomores. If you can do it in whisky, it feels like Bruichladdich is attempting to do it, and in everything they are trying, they are doing well. I can not remember ever drinking anything from them, which was not amazing. Now, this whisky is bright, spicy, sweet, and salty, with a citrus note running throughout it. A lot of lemon creamy toffee, but it’s very balanced and a great whisky for any time of the day or night. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 8th July
The Craigellachie Hotel was described by Condé Nast Traveller as “the oldest and greatest whisky hotel in the world”. The Craigellachie has 26 bedrooms, and it’s home to the oldest pub in Speyside: the Spey Inn, an old drovers inn dating back to 1703, and to the world-renowned Quaich Bar, where guests and tourists can savour over 1,000 single-malt whiskies alongside some of the best cocktails.

Journal

NEW WHISKIES AT THE QUAICH BAR
One of the forgotten distilleries of Speyside Allt-A-Bhainne was built in 1975 by Seagrams. It was one of the first distilleries designed to be operated by one person. It is a workhorse distillery, mostly going for blends, and it is very rare to see a single malt coming from it. But when you do, wow. Originally designed to make a light malt, they have also produced a heavily peated style in recent years. Both styles are amazing! This whisky from Douglas Laing’s Provenance series follows on the side of light and estery. Matured for 10 years in a refill bourbon barrel, there is a lot of marmalade and vanilla on the nose, followed by toasted pastry. This whisky has a thick mouthfeel with notes of apple crumble and clotted cream. A distillery people forget, but as soon as you taste this whisky, you will remember it forever. - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 1st July
boutiqueywhisky is, in my opinion, one of the funniest Independent bottling companies out there. They use cartoon labels that tell a story, which is great fun. They try to guess what the story is and then find out that you are completely wrong. This whisky from them is part of the new core range of products that they introduced a couple of months ago. It is a blend of Grain whiskies aged for over 30 years, and the label shows a Monarch of the Glen esc stag who looks like he has seen better days, but he is 30 years old. Who can blame him? The back of the label is pink to signify one of the colours of the North Lights. To the whisky itself, this has a lot of buttery pastry, chocolate with vanilla and butterscotch, and an amazing dram, especially with a dessert! - Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 23rd June
Are you planning your next stay at The Craigellachie? Don’t leave your furry best friend behind! As a proud dog-friendly hotel, our staff always goes the extra mile to make your dogs feel at home. The Craigellachie Bridge beach and the Speyside Way are just a two-minute walk away, offering the perfect backdrop to make your dog’s adventure as unforgettable as the finest drams you will enjoy at The Craigellachie Hotel.

Journal

Don’t leave your furry best friend behind!
Raasay Distillery exclusive 🥃 This will be the first time I have spoken about Raasay as a whisky of the week, but you will have seen me speak about it during one of our video whisky tastings. Raasay has a really special place in my heart. I moved out to work on the island just after Covid when things were opening up again, and I was there for 6 months. I think I speak for anyone who has ever spent a bit of time on the island. There is just something really special about it, and it keeps drawing you back in. That’s why a couple of weeks ago, I took the opportunity to go back and visit the island and see some familiar faces and, of course, drink some of the new whisky coming from the distillery. This Handfill was on when I was there and the cask make up just had me fascinated; it is a Dutch oak cask which was used for red wine and then emptied and filled with oloroso sherry, emptied again and filled with unpeated Raasay new make. This is a whisky that needs to be tried to be understood. -Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 17th June
Abhainn Dearg has slowly been making its way to the front of the line of my favourite distilleries in Scotland. Set up in 2008 by Marko, it was the first legal distillery on the outer Hebrides since 1829, when the old Stornoway distillery closed its doors and was demolished. Abhainn Dearg, which means Red River in Gaelic, is unlike any other distillery in Scotland, with all the barely coming from the isle of Lewis and the whole production, maturation and bottling happening on the island. The malting process gets done on a malt table, which is also unique here in Scotland. The whisky itself is peated and can be peated to different levels just, depending on how the wind blows on the day. This release is at cask strength 56% and has been fully matured in a PX cask, which gives it a lovely toffee sweetness, but there is also a costly note to it, making this a dream that is very easy to drink and difficult to put down. -Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 10th June
Last week, I spent my time on holiday in the beautiful Western Isles, spending most of my time on Lewis and Harris. I got to visit both Abhainn Dearg and the distillery that makes the whisky we are featuring this week, the Isle of Harris Distillery. Last year, we had the first 8 batches of the Hearach, and I don’t think anyone could predict the fanfare that was to follow. Nearly every bottle of the first 8 batches sold out within minutes. Lines were stretching out the distillery and many whisky shops. This bottle comes from batch 11 of the Hearach which was released earlier this year. Beach bonfires, orchard fruits, ginger, vanilla, and floral honey on the nose with Scottish tablets, apples, nutty malt, clotted cream, and gentle peat smoke. Amazing whisky from a new distillery doing amazing work on one of Scotland’s more remote islands.

Whisky Of The Week

WHISKY OF THE WEEK – 3rd June

SCOTLAND’S OLDEST
WHISKY HOTEL

Contact

The Craigellachie Hotel,
Victoria St,
Craigellachie,
Aberlour,
AB38 9SR

t: +44 1340 881204
e: reservations@craigellachiehotel.co.uk

Follow Us

Follow us on social media to stay up to date with our latest news, events and releases of our brands: Speyfly Gin, Quaich, Spey Soda and Craigellachie at Home.

Instagram Facebook Linkedin

© The Craigellachie Hotel. All rights reserved.

Home

Rooms

Spey Inn

Quaich Bar

Enhance Your Stay

Distillery Tours

Private Hire

Shop

Speyside Through the Seasons

Journal

Contact