Cragganmore 30 Years Old 1990 Cask #4230549 (Duncan Taylor)

This Cragganmore was bottled by the Huntly bottler Duncan Taylor, a 30 year old, distilled in 1990, from cask 4230549, bottled at 48.5%, one of 89 bottles. Cragganmore is a Diageo Speyside distillery whose flat topped stills give a famously complex spirit. It is often called one of the most complex of all the Speyside malts.

It was run through the distillery's unusual flat topped wide neck stills, for the complex, fragrant make Cragganmore is known for. A sherry cask wrapped the complex spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. In its ethereal years the malt is deep and oxidative, faded esters and a touch of sotolon (maple, spice). The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the fragrant, savoury core over the years. Long ageing turns the fresh fruit towards dried fruit, fig, leather and a warm spice. The Distillers Edition is finished in Port wood, the house double matured expression.

At cask strength 48.5% it is full bodied. A complex, malty fruitiness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Dried fruit, malt and a herbal spice fill the middle. The finish is deep, fragrant and savoury. This is Cragganmore's fragrant, meaty Speyside style.