Review by: The Muskox
This Diageo special release has gotten a lot of press since it released 6 years ago. That’s partly due to it being an NAS whisky – I don’t think anyone’s really figured out roughly how old this is – and partly, I think, due to its shear quality. Let’s give it a shot.
Distillery: Cragganmore
Bottler: Official bottling
Region: Speyside
ABV: 55.7%. Cask Strength.
Age: No age statement. Bottled in 2016.
Cask type: A combination of refill casks, recharred casks, and ex-Bodega(!) sherry casks.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Rich gold. Natural Color. Non-Chill Filtered.
Nose: Sweet and fragrant. A blast of Pina Colada right up front, as well as some green apple. There’s something pungent and spicy that isn’t quite ginger – first I thought wasabi, then Kashmiri chili powder, then I read washeewashee’s review of this whisky and realized that it’s habanero! The tropical fruit is joined by creamy notes of sweetened condensed milk, Hershey’s cookies & cream bar, buttery croissants, and clover honey. Salted cashews, nutmeg, and cinnamon bark. There are hints of age, old books and something a little dunnage-y.
Palate: Medium texture, rather plush. Arrives super buttery, and filled with bursting tropical fruit (pineapple, passionfruit, guava, mangosteen, kiwi). A bit of a mineral note – paulusgaming, who was on Discord with me reviewing a different Cragganmore, found an oil shale note in his whisky. I happen to have a chunk of oil shale on hand, because of course I do, and there’s a similar note in here. Gristy malt and toasted coconut in the middle, developing to soft oak, old books, rock dust, and a hint of smoke. Nutty notes of sesame bars, cardamom, and toasted cream.
Finish: Medium-length and buttery-rich – more toasted coconut, shea butter, cocoa butter. Peach skins, ripe banana, lemon oil, cardamom, and melon. Oatmeal with brown sugar and milk. Lingering minerals and cayenne. Hot beach sand. Gets more floral.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Pants? Who am I, Tommy Bahama?”
Conclusion: Lovely, lovely stuff. Beautiful balance, richness, and an always-welcome burst of tropical fruit. A joy to sip on. It has a similar tropical-nutty-dirty-malt profile to a cask-sample Hazelburn 11 I tried the other week. That one didn’t have the old-whisky notes, the creaminess, or the same mineral bite that are in this Cragganmore of course, but it had a different kind of pungency and complexity. I’m not really sure which one I prefer to be honest. They’re both fantastic.
Final Score: 88.
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 