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	Cragganmore
			Sample
O.B.	12 years	17 2/3
	Cask Strength 10 years	18
	17 years	18
	Distillers edition 1987	17
Bladnoch forum bottlings	12 years (Bladnoch Bottling)	17
Signatory	Un-chillfiltered collection 1989	16 2/5
	1989-2004		17

 

 

Cragganmore 12 years
Age	12 years
Alcohol percentage	40%
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

 

 Cragganmore is United Distillers' choice for representing the Speyside area in the "Classic Malts" collection. UDV could have made a worse choice. This bottle, modest by its price, is rather ambitious by its taste and its aftertaste. Lots of aromas and fragrances are present from the first nosing, which is rather unusual for a malt from this area. I really recommend this bottle.

The nose is rather pleasant. A second tasting did nod deny the first one. The taste is slightly salted, complex and really representative of the whiskies of that area. The pleasant finish confirms the impressions of the first tasting.

The third tasting just confirms the two preceding ones: very pleasant small, slightly smokes, followed bay a very rich and complex taste, associated to a nice finish with an average length.

The nose was rather smoky and complex at the fourth tasting, with clear hints of citrus fruit. The taste in the palate is influenced by smoke on the background, and is rather salted, which is characteristic of whiskies from more Northern or closer to the sea areas. A nice finish, and an excellent whisky.

Nothing new for the fifth tasting...

The nose is pleasantly marked by an harmonious mix of plum malt and sherry hints. After a short while, some spices arrive together with a light touch of smoke. The mouth is relatively complex with a kind of dominance by cereals and some slightly spiced and clearly salted notes. The finish is very smooth with first some malted hints quickly followed by more bitter notes.

Comment by Henrik Johansson

Apperance: Coppertoned full gold.
Nose: First impression is of fresh fruits. Refreshing and sweet. Vanilla and fruit brandy. Buttery. Diluted dram is dryer with a slight wooden aroma. Complex.
Body: Light to medium but very firm and smooth. Palate: Easy going. Semi sweet with a wide range of fruits. Long finish with outstanding complexity. Dried fruits, floral notes, butter, oak and leather.
Comments: A very good Speyside malt. I don't seem to rate it as high as the experts do, and I usually prefer The Glenlivet and The Macallan 12 Year bottlings to this one when it comes to Speysiders. Probably due to lacking experience. This is a very nuanced single malt. I'll get another bottle of Cragganmore in a couple of years and see what I think then.
85/100

 

 

Cragganmore 1987 Distillers Edition
Age	14 years
Alcohol percentage	40%
Particularity	Double Maturation
Cask	Port
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

 

 This whisky from Speyside is very well balanced, and gives of lots of aromas. In my opinion, this is one of the riches malts from this area. It is part of the "Classic Malts" from United Distillers and Vintners. This bottling is part of the "Distillers edition" and was matured in port casks, unlike the traditional version. A very great reference in the world of Speyside whiskies. Excellent, and I really recommend it.

At the second nosing, the nose is characterized by a remarkable complexity, combining malt hints with some sweet floral touches. The palate is smooth too, and the Port does not dominate the taste. The finish, of average length, crowns the whole.

A quite fruity and sweet nose announces a well balanced whisky. In the mouth, some fresh and slightly woody hints, rather sweet too. The sweetness is enhanced by the percentage of alcohol (which gives this whisky a kind of "watery" character). A nice finish, rather long, recalling some woody hints and a touch of chocolate....

The first nose is rather indifferent with its mix of yeast and cut grass.
In the palate, malty tastes seem to dominate some rather acid hints and discrete vanilla touches.
The finish is not very long and the memory of malty tastes remains for a certain time.

 

 

Cragganmore 10 years old Cask Strength Limited Edition
Age	10 years
Alcohol percentage	60,1%
Particularity	First fill xeres cask
Cask	Xeres
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

A rather fresh nose, with hints of hazelnut, grass and a touch of acidity, probably due to the alcohol level. A discrete touch of peat and smoke on the background, and some rather complex woody notes.
In the palate, a great complexity, a great sweetness with a touch of bitterness, walnut taste. The finish develops on malt, and is very smooth, despite the relative high degree of alcohol and is exceptionally long and pleasant.

A second tasting completely confirmed the first one. Nothing to add at this time.

 

Cragganmore 17 years old Special Edition
Age	17 years
Alcohol percentage	55,5%
Bottler	Official
Price/litre

An intense floral nose, very complex with hints of vanilla and fruits (pear, peach) The palate is pleasantly complex, developing quickly from the announced sweetness  on acid notes (green apple), on a malty background. The finish is long and warm, in the perfect continuation of the mouth sensations.

 

 

Cragganmore 1989 Signatory's Un-chill filtered collection
Age	14 years
Alcohol percentage	46%
Particularity	Un-chill filtered
Bottler	Signatory
Price/litre

 

 Cragganmore as well as "Signatory's Un-chill filtered collection" use to produce very great malts. This bottle is thus the exception confirming both rules...
Beside the white wine colour (like most of the bottlings in this collection) which could surprise less informed drinkers, the nose is also disappointing. The typical Speyside fragrances are not present. My first impression was that I was drinking some Lowlands whisky. The palate, not really frank, reveals a mix of light malt and citrus fruits. The whole "washed-out". A not really consisting finish, and that's it. A cruel deception. It is the first deception for this distillery as well as for the collection. This bottle deserves certainly a second chance...

The second tasting confirmed the hints of cut grass, reminding a Lowlands, but a great complexity has been detected, and emphasised the very pleasant taste of this nice whisky who was judged too severely the first time

The third tasting just confirmed the second one. This bottle is somewhere between a characterful Lowland and a slightly acid Speyside. A good bottle.
.
At the fourth tasting, the quite discrete nose revealed some fresh cut grass notes along with more perfumed red fruit notes (red currant). The palate, rather fresh too, follows precisely the nose impressions, fruity and relatively complex. Hints of red currants, with their typical acidity and raspberries (sweeter but with a richer taste). A relatively short finish completes the scope with touches reminding the nose and mouth impressions. An amazing bottle, which seems to get better and better with time and aeration....

A first rather fresh and medicinal nose. Hints of ether behind floral notes.
In the mouth, the first acidity develops on something difficult to describe, some acid bitterness. Some fruity notes in transparency.
The finish is rather long and the same dominating hints are present, both bitterness and acidity.

 

Cragganmore (Bladnoch bottling) 12 years
Age	12 years
Alcohol percentage	62%
Particularity	Natural Cask Strength
Bottler	Raymond Armstrong, Bladnoch
Price/litre

The nose is rather complex, mixing fruit smells (green apple) to spices, especially pepper. Behind this first impressions, some freshness, with hints of slightly dryed cut grass. The first impression in teh palate is a kind of bitterness combined to an impressing percentage of alcohol. Then, the taste of some pleasant pear spirit developing quickly (once the first alcoho hint passed) on fru-ity and malty notes while keeping that rather pleasant bitterness feeling in the mouth, gining a special dimension to the whole. The finish is nice, long, at the time fresh and warm, recalling clearly a fruit spirit.

Gragganmore 1989-2004 Cask Strength Collection (Blind tasting 2006) Hogshead n%981
Taux d'alcool	58.8%
Embouteilleur	Signatory

The first nose is rather aggressive, tingling but seems to improve after a short while. However, the tingling notes dominate some discrete fruity touches.
The mouth is an amazing mix of acid and bitter notes, coming out on nice fruity hints, with a clear presence of alcohol, but relatively complex and not unpleasant.
The finish is fresh and rather long, and nice peach notes remain in the throat