Cragganmore 12 Year 2013 Bottling

Review by: zSolaris

Distillery: Cragganmore.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 12 Year. Bottle date code L3XXXXXX with laser etching indicating a 2013 bottling.

ABV: 40%.

Price: $50.00.

Color: 1.0, Deep Copper.

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Nose: It is pretty thin, as expected from a 40-percenter in all honesty. There is a lot of honey notes but it isn’t particularly sweet, perhaps mead is a better descriptor. A bit of old hay as well.

Palate: It’s a little flat on the palate but again, not unexpected. You get a banana cream as the major note. There are bits of fresh ground black pepper as well. It is really easy to drink but still has some flavor.

Finish: Short. A bit more of the mead comes through along with baking spices.

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Conclusion: I found this semi-dusty bottle of Cragganmore sitting on a shelf last year and figured I’d take a punt on something that had been in a bottle for nearly a decade. If I had bought this a decade ago at $50, I probably would have been disappointed. While it is easy to drink and it does have some nice flavor, it is very simple. Considering this would have been the era where the likes of Clynelish or Oban 14 would have been readily available for similar prices, it probably would have been fairly lacking for me. Still, it isn’t a bad way to check another distillery off the “Catch ‘Em All” list and it does show a bit of promise for anything that isn’t bottled at the lowest possible ABV from this distillery.

Rating: 74.

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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.