Cragganmore 27 Years Old 1995 Cask #HL 56694 (Hunter Laing)

A 27 year old Cragganmore from the independent Hunter Laing, distilled in 1995, from cask HL 56694, bottled at 53%, one of 300 bottles. Cragganmore is a meaty, fragrant Speyside malt made on flat topped stills and worm tubs. It was the first distillery deliberately sited beside a railway, the Strathspey line carrying its whisky out.

Distilled for the complex, fragrant spirit Cragganmore is known for, giving the meaty, malty spirit at its heart. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light honeyed vanilla. At this evaporative stage ellagitannins lend a drying structure while oxidation builds a richer, meatier fruit. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the meaty malt. Most of its make goes to blending, with a twelve year old the flagship single malt. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and fruit over a savoury malt.

At a hearty 53% it carries real weight. Dried fruit, malt and a savoury, fragrant depth, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft orchard fruit and a savoury malt sit behind the cask. The finish runs fragrant, meaty and warm. This is Cragganmore, the heart of Old Parr.