Cragganmore 17 Years Old 1999 Wood Range Sherry Cask (Cadenhead’s)

A 17 year old Cragganmore from Scotland's oldest independent bottler Cadenhead's, distilled in 1999, bottled at 52%, one of 228 bottles. Cragganmore is a fragrant, complex Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch on the Spey. The distillery was founded in 1869 by John Smith, the most experienced distiller of his day, who had run Macallan, Glenlivet and Glenfarclas.

It was distilled in flat topped stills with worm tub condensers on Craggan Burn water, for a full, complex Speyside spirit. A Pedro Ximenez cask added raisin, date and a treacle sweetness. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (apple and dried fruit) over the meaty, malty depth. Cragganmore is reckoned among the most complex of all the Speyside malts. It is often called one of the most complex of all the Speyside malts. John Smith reputedly weighed over twenty stone and could not use the railway he loved, too large for the carriages.

At a hearty 52% it carries real weight. A complex, malty fruitiness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is full and complex, the fruit lifted by a meaty malt. It finishes complex, malty and warm. This is one of the most complex of the Speyside malts.