15 year old Cragganmore that’s spent 15 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before being re-racked into a 2nd fill charred red wine barrique. View on SMWS
Nose: Powerfully fruity – raspberry coulis and Haribo Sours backed up by a somewhat industrial edge – machine oils and bees waxed tables. Running throughout is a ‘greenhouse’ aroma of bell peppers and micro herbs alongside salted hazelnuts and rolled pastry. Reduction introduced pronounced wine gums (the red and black ones) with pancake batter, and malty biscuits.
Taste: The arrival has oily viscosity and immediately delivers a basket of spices – punchy pepper, graduating into cinnamon and aromatic woods (cedar-based). Mixed berries (strawberries and raspberries) sit alongside gummy sweets, steeped black tea and a developing truffled chocolatey note. Water softens things with an array of floral influences – sunflowers, peonies and wet grass.
Finish: Medium in length and offering peppery drying oak and tinges of cask char.
The wine integration on this Cragganmore is well-judged, offering an overlay of berries aromatic wood that sits well with the distillate’s fruity fresh tea profile. There’s plenty of forceful spicing here, but both the development, and the addition of water evens things out. All rather summery.