Cragganmore 1991 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: Cragganmore

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  20 Years

ABV:  53.4% 

Date: 09/05/2013

Colour: Pale Straw/White Wine  

Nose: My first impressions were Buttered Toast and Apricot Marmalade, Malt, Vanilla, Hazelnuts and Marzipan. But they fade away quickly and the Cragganmore becomes quite Mineral, Woody and Nutty. There is some Alcohol present which is normal given the high ABV.  I also get Lemon, Honey, Raisins, Apple-Syrup, Cinnamon and maybe a hint of Leather. The Buttered Toast and Apricot Marmalade return after a while.

Palate: Quite Floral with Honey, Lemon-Pepper, Vanilla, Sweet Barley, Oak, Ginger, Cloves, Pineapple and Banana.

Finish: Rather Short and Dry with Lemon-Pepper, Herbs, Pepper, Sweet Barley and Cloves.

I added a bit of Water and I get more Malt, Toast, Apples, Honey and Nuts on the Nose and Lemon-Pepper on the Palate. You can perfectly experiment with a couple of drops here without overdoing it of course.

Rating: 84.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Cragganmore Distillery was founded in 1869 by John Smith and is located in the village of Ballindalloch in Banffshire. It's now part of the Diageo Group and Cragganmore is part of their Classic Malts Selection. This specific Cragganmore was distilled on March 8, 1991 and 80 bottles were bottled at Cask Strength by Whiskybroker Co. UK on October 14, 2011. I believe that Masters of Malt bottled the rest of this cask. The Cragganmore matured in a refill Hogshead with Cask # 1146. This Single Malt is not coloured artificially and is non chill-filtered. It was for sale at around 60 US Dollars but it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get it by now.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good.

Conclusion: The first impressions on the Nose were excellent but they faded away too quickly. On the Palate and in the Finish this Cragganmore is quite Floral with a strong presence of Lemon-Pepper. It's a well-crafted whisky but I had expected much more depth and complexity of a 20 Year old Single Malt bottled at Cask Strength. Wouldn't consider buying a full bottle of this!

Jan van den Ende                                                                        May 2013