Cragganmore 1997 Distillers Edition (40%, OB, CggD6562, 2010)

• ABV: 40%
• Age: 13 Years Old
• Bottling: OB, Diageo
• Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
• Cost: £60
• Origin: Cragganmore distillery
• Vintage: 1997

What they say

The complexity of Cragganmore makes it an out-of-the-ordinary choice for a second cask finish. However, port-wine casks provide the perfectly harmonious partner.

Official tasting notes:

• Nose: Jellybabies! Sweet, black ones – complete with powdery sugar. And, of course, malt. A tantalising aroma, much, much fruitier and more mouthwatering than the standard Cragganmore. Just a hint of moke does linger.
• Palate: Firm, arousing stuff. Initially sweet with some deep smoky undertones and a rather off-beat fruitiness. Malt, oak and smoke seem to rumble around the base of the palate. An intriguingly two-tiered malt.
• Taste: Sweet, intensely fruity fragrances and a deep oak-smoked malty taste, then a longish drying finish with plenty of oak character showing through.
• Body: Light to medium, with rich undertones.
• Finish: Medium to long with a breathtakingly fine explosion of oaky expressions, running from bananas and vanilla to cocoa. Much drier than that very first sweet burst.

What I say

The final in our lighter-side-of-Spey trilogy is Cragganores famed Distillers Edition, taking that simple complexity (or complex simplicity) of Cragganmore malt and marrying it with Port casks to finish – sublime!

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Dark rose gold (12/20), quick large tears with numerous solid legs.
• Nose: Sweet and dusty, fruity, strawberry jam, strawberry meringues and candy floss, sharp strawberry with lime citrus, a wisp of peat smoke.
• Taste: Strawberry marshmallow cake, raspberry, polished oak wood, butterscotch, slightly neutral sweet and aged oak, a hint of cardboard or mustiness, fluffy sweet then zesty and sharp.
• Finish: Long, sweet & sharp, like powdery strawberry bon bons with a sherbet lime centre.

Overall

A touch more citric spirit and musty Port cask than usual but still a great expression, loving the strawberry and lime combination in this expression and the general fluffy and jammy sweet qualities.

Score 86/100

Don’t take my word for it:

Bloggers submit link to your review