40°
Distillery : Cragganmore - Speyside
Bourbon and Sherry Casks
Original Bottling
Core Range
Single Malt
Launched in 1987
Almost Unpeated
It is not clear when Cragganmore 12yo was launched. It certainly existed in 1988, when it joined Diageo's range of Single Classic Malts. I've also found a source that mentions its existence in 1987, but it's not very solid. So it's possible that it was launched earlier, but it's also possible that it was included in the Single Classic Malts as soon as it was created. In any case, I was surprised to learn that it was very lightly peated, reportedly up to 3 ppm. The precise recipe is of course kept secret, but it is cold-filtered and coloured.
Let's Taste It :
Very light nose, more lemon than vanilla. Pulpy white fruit, pastry cream, raisins and plums. Crushed almonds and heather. Woody and leafy notes, laurel, thyme, humus. Quince jam. On the palate, it's honeyed, with pear and green apple juice and a hint of citrus zest. The spices are present, clove and white pepper. Caramel cut with water. The finish is rather successful, long, earthy, ginger, lime, malted barley, poached eggs, hay, toast rubbed with garlic. Chestnuts, hazelnuts. Mint leaf.
In Short,
The nose could be nice, but at such a low alcohol level and with cold filtration, it has lost quite a lot of its flavour. The same goes for the palate, you get the impression that this is a restrained whisky, with limited potential. This is something we'd love to discover at 46° and unfiltered. Unfortunately, the demands of the market mean that we only have this ersatz to satisfy us, at a price that's not so cheap either.
Score : 83
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Information Society - Repetition
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