Cragganmore 26 Years Old 1995 Cask #HL 19119 (Edition Spirits)

Edition Spirits bottled this Cragganmore, a 26 year old, distilled in 1995, from cask HL 19119, bottled at 54.7%, one of 300 bottles. Cragganmore is the complex, savoury Speyside malt of the Classic Malts range. It was chosen in 1988 as the Speyside member of Diageo's original Classic Malts.

It was made in copper stills whose flat tops build a complex make, giving the meaty, malty spirit at its heart. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Oxidative, evaporative ageing turns the malt deep and complex, ethereal esters and a faint sotolon (maple). Worm tubs gave the new spirit its weight, the cask then drawing out fruit and depth. It was the first distillery deliberately sited beside a railway, the Strathspey line carrying its whisky out. John Smith reputedly weighed over twenty stone and could not use the railway he loved, too large for the carriages.

At a hearty 54.7% it carries real weight. Dried fruit, malt and a savoury, fragrant depth, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. The finish is long, complex and savoury. This is Cragganmore, the heart of Old Parr.