Cragganmore Smoky 12 years old 2019 Special Release / 58,4% / – Cragganmore Distillery was founded in 1869 by John Smith of Glenfarclas’ fame and is currently owned by Diageo. The distillery is equipped with two pairs of stills and can produce of 2.2 million liters of spirit per annum. Cragganmore is a major component of two blended whiskies – Old Parr and White Horse; it is also one of the six original Classic Malts launched in the late 1980s. Cragganmore 12 years old, part of 2019 Diageo Special Releases range, varies from the standard 12 year old bottling – it is the first ever smoky expression from the distillery. The whisky was aged in refill American oak casks and bottled at natural strength of 58.4% abv with an outrun of 18,000 bottles.
Nose: fruity and peaty, apples, pears, pineapples, pine needles, lemon peel, toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, fresh herbs, hints of hay and oak.
Palate: sweet with salty tang, apples, gooseberries, Mirabelle jam, honey, toffee, vanilla, hints of white pepper and nutmeg, peat and oak.
Finish: pretty long, with notes of butterscotch, caramel, milk chocolate, white pepper and distant whiff of smoke.
