Cragganmore The Distillers Edition 12 Years Old 1996

A 12 year old Cragganmore, a distillery bottling, from 1996, cask CggD-6560, at 40%. Cragganmore is a fragrant, malty Speyside single malt from the foot of Craggan More hill. The distillery sits at Ballindalloch on the River Spey, in the heart of Speyside.

It was drawn off flat topped stills cooled by worm tubs, to build a complex, savoury, fragrant character. A Port cask finish wrapped the malt in plum and red berry, the Distillers Edition style. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the savoury body fuller and deeper. Cragganmore is reckoned among 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. Most Cragganmore goes quietly into blends like Old Parr, a little kept as single malt.

Reduced to 40%, it is mellow. Dried fruit, malt and a savoury, fragrant depth, with plum, red berry and chocolate from the cask. The texture is full and complex, the fruit lifted by a meaty malt. The finish is deep, fragrant and savoury. This is the savoury, complex malt of Ballindalloch.