Cragganmore 12 Years Old (58.4%)

An official release of Cragganmore, a 12 year old, at 58.4%, 18000 bottles in all. Cragganmore was built in 1869 beside the Strathspey Railway, a Speyside malt of real depth. Its spirit stills are flat topped with a wide neck, an unusual shape that builds a complex, fragrant spirit.

The spirit was worked through flat topped stills and worm tubs for a meaty, fragrant spirit, for a meaty, fragrant make of real depth. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla over the complex spirit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper orchard fruit over the meaty malt. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and fruit over a savoury malt. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the meaty malt. The meaty, fragrant make rewards a long, patient maturation.

At its natural 58.4% it is concentrated. Orchard fruit, malt and a warm spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. It is fragrant and savoury, the complex spirit shining through. Dried fruit, malt and a savoury oak see out the finish. This is one of the most complex of the Speyside malts.