New Release: Craigsellachie 1995-2017 21yo Edition Spirits First Edition #HL13305 59.0%

This was completely dominated by the sherry cask. Craigsellachie CRAIGELLACHIE 1995-2017 21yo EDITION SPIRITS 'THE First Editions' #HL13305 59.0% one of 282 bottles, SHERRY BUTT The nose is rich and strong sherry, stemmed raisins, bitter chocolate, black sugar, balsamic vinegar, from the depths of charred barley, herb liqueur. When drinking it has viscosity and spreads richly, the concentrated sweetness of fruits like raisins, pleasant astringency from herbs, woody depth that deepens the flavor, and long pleasant finish. [Good/Very Good] This Craigsellachie 1995, aged for 21 years, is from the First Editions series by Edition Spirits, a bottler founded by Andrew Stewart, son of Hunter Laing's Stewart. This time, we were able to drink it alongside the same vintage 20-year-old bottling from last year. Compared to the previously introduced 20-year-old version, this one is darker in color and, upon tasting, it's clearly a type strongly influenced by the sherry cask. Notes of stemmed raisins, balsamic vinegar, bitter chocolate and herb liqueur—elements often found in this style of sherry cask—are strongly pronounced. When drinking, it has a fruity, strong sweetness, and surprisingly less astringency or woodiness than expected, making it pleasant as a sherry cask malt. While the sherry character is very appealing, it feels less like the house style compared to the 20-year-old version, and this would be difficult to identify blindly. Personally, since it's hard to tell, I preferred this 21-year-old version with almost no sulfury elements and a more appealing sherry character.