Review by: dustbunna
Recently I ordered the 3x 200mL Diageo Classic ‘Strong’ Malts pack, seeing it available for a really good price from a local shop that was delivering. That pack contains Lagavulin 16, Talisker 10, and this one, Cragganmore 12. This is the original Speyside representative in the Classic Malts, a distillery that I haven’t encountered much at all. On first glance, honestly, seeing the low strength I wondered why on earth it would be included in a series called the ‘Strong’ pack? What is it about Cragganmore that suggests more robust flavor or that it can stand up to Talisker and Lagavulin in a sampling?
Part of that designation might be the way it’s made: Cragganmore is one of the older-school distilleries in the Diageo network. They still use lightly peated malt, worm tubs and wooden washbacks… distilling methods that ideally should lead to one of those funkier, more complex Speyside profiles. Like Clynelish and Caol Ila, Diageo prizes it as a blending element– it’s known to be one of the backbones of Johnnie Walker Green, and also allegedly a significant contributor to the malt portion of Johnnie Walker Black. So far, so good.
Distillery: Cragganmore.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 40%.
Age: 12 years. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: Vatting of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
Price: $13 (200mL bottle).
Artificial Color. Chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 1 month, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: malty with a strong, funky apple cider note, water brings out artificial grape and apple candy, a bit more funk, some floral and dusty grain notes emerge in the background.
Palate: medium body, surprisingly for 40% ~ quite neutral at first, a little bubblegum and cereal, honey, some floral bitterness.
Finish: short ~ again, very neutral at first, with water it finds some tonic-like bitterness and fizz, minerals, sweet like icing sugar on the tail.
Conclusion: I am totally convinced that Cragganmore contributes the finish to JW Green– my notes for the tail end of each were very, very similar. I can’t remember the last time I sipped on something at 40%, though ironically taking it below that unlocks some things. It improves as the bottle goes down, with the best balance after around two weeks open and half the bottle gone. Ultimately, though, it feels like there are qualities that might have surprised and engaged more that are suppressed by the low bottling strength. Clynelish 14 does the fruit and floral qualities better, while Craigellachie 13 has a more forward worm-tub funk (both at 46%, incidentally)– I’d seek either of those out again before committing more money/liver cells to this. That said, I do get the sense that this one’s weaknesses lie with the bottling, not the distilling, and so I’ll be on the lookout for IBs and higher-strength OB releases from Cragganmore (this year’s 20yr Special Release looks promising, if it’s not ridiculously priced.)
Final Score: 70.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 