Teenage Cragganmore that’s been matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead for 16 year old
Nose: Highly vegetal. Greenhouse aromas – tomato vines, green leaves and tree sap alongside gooseberries, grapefruit and green apples. Running throughout, soft, gooey honey, white bread, flax and reeds. The addition of water unlocks tropical aromas of mango and banana, whilst also expressing bakery with rolled pasty and oven-cooked brown loaves.
Taste: An effective combination of berries, spice and cake mix. Blackcurrants, orange peels and grape juice are livened with a hearty kick of ginger spicing – fiery. Homemade bloomer loaves and sponge cakes sit with burnt pan sugars, whilst plums stew in their own liquor. Water adds pepperiness and drying oak alongside cake mix – batternburg and Victoria sponge.
Finish: Medium with a bite of peppery minerality and fading planed oak.
There’s quite the difference between the nose and the palate of this Cragganmore. But, both are rather successful. Well-judged pronounced spicing integrates nicely with a wide selection of fruits and sugars resulting in a very likable, and interesting Speysider. Recommended.
Score: 86/100