Cragganmore 26 Years Old 1993 Cask #4220859 (Duncan Taylor)

The Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor bottled this Cragganmore, a 26 year old, distilled in 1993, from cask 4220859, bottled at 53.6%, one of 83 bottles. Cragganmore, the Speyside Classic Malt, is prized for one of the most complex characters in the region. It was chosen in 1988 as the Speyside member of Diageo's original Classic Malts.

Distilled for the complex, fragrant spirit Cragganmore is known for, for a meaty, fragrant make of real depth. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the meaty, malty spirit. Through the evaporative decades the spirit concentrates, esters folding into dried fruit, leather and a warm spice. Long ageing turns the fresh fruit towards dried fruit, fig, leather and a warm spice. Most of its make goes to blending, with a twelve year old the flagship single malt. Water comes from the Craggan Burn, off the slopes of Craggan More hill.

At a hearty 53.6% it carries real weight. A complex, malty fruitiness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dried fruit and a malty depth give it weight. A full, malty finish ends on dried fruit and a warm spice. This is a complex, malty Speyside single malt.