Cragganmore 30 Years Old 1986 Cask #1492 (A.D. Rattray)

This Cragganmore was bottled by A.D. Rattray, a 30 year old, distilled in 1986, from cask 1492, bottled at 56.8%, one of 161 bottles. Cragganmore was built in 1869 beside the Strathspey Railway, a Speyside malt of real depth. The distillery was founded in 1869 by John Smith, the most experienced distiller of his day, who had run Macallan, Glenlivet and Glenfarclas.

Drawn off flat topped stills cooled by worm tubs, building the distinctive Cragganmore style. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, vanilla and a soft honey behind the complex malt. Ethereal and old, decades draw the malt to a complex, waxy depth of sotolon, old oak and dried fruit. The flat topped stills build a complexity that long maturation only deepens. Most of its make goes to blending, with a twelve year old the flagship single malt. Cragganmore is reckoned among the most complex of all the Speyside malts.

At its natural 56.8% it is concentrated. A complex, malty fruitiness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is full, the fruit carried on a meaty, malty body. The close is long, fruit over a complex malt. This is a fragrant Speyside single malt of real depth.