Cragganmore 12

If any of you recognize what I generally review, you’ll know this is well off of my path. I ended up ordering this (since locally it’s about 1.5x the price, a rare case of international shipping being ultimately cheaper) after seeing some fair praise and comparisons for it when I was looking for a break from peat. I found myself sipping on a dram of Lagavulin and noticed I didn’t find it smoky at all, so I figured I should take a break from peat for a bit. This was the first bottle of that period. 

Cragganmore 12, Speyside Single Malt, 40% ABV

Minutia: Matured in 2nd-fill Bourbon casks, often combined with 1st-fill or virgin oak casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnished, 1.1.

Nose: Malty, honey, vague indiscriminate fruit.

Taste: Much like the nose, tiniest bit of heat.

Finish: Dry, much like the palate. Pretty long, especially for its ABV.

So, it’s certainly not my cup of tea, but I didn’t have to power through it or anything. I actually quite liked the light maltiness, I just wish there were some more power to it. It’s not complex, but I kind of like that from the get-go you know the experience you’re getting. The 2019 special release of the peated Cragganmore from when Diageo thought they might need to use Cragganmore to cover Talisker went from a novelty I’d try if I could to something I intend to buy while it’s still around.

Score: 76