Cragganmore 12 Year old

 Cragganmore 12 year old

ABV 40%

What the professionals Say:

Gold in appearance, a combination of sweet floral fragrances, riverside herbs and flowers with some honey and vanilla. A firm rounded light body with a strong malty taste, hints of sweet wood smoke and sandalwood to the palate with a long, malt-driven finish with light smoke and hints of sweetness.


What I think:

Another Speyside great!

OK, so I am not just going to leave it there lol...

I fell in love with the colour of this Whisky, long before I got to smell it, let alone taste it. Its a rich gold colour, that promises all kinds of delights and dreams, and it does not fail to deliver.
I spent quite a while nosing this one, and enjoying the complex heady aromas, all though, looking pretty silly at the same time, eyes closed, glass swirled and tilted, nose in glass, mouth slightly open.... I was just waiting for Kerry to call the men in white coats.
The aroma is complex, far too complex for me to do it any justice. That being said, there is hay,  almonds,  fruit, a sweetness that's hard to describe, floral notes and yet more fruit. If nothing else it is subtle and very enjoyable.

It tastes REALLY NICE.... no I mean it, try it, you will understand. OK, a bit of a let down, after the colour and that nose, it seems to be lacking in taste. Now I don't mean it is not nice, because it is. It's really nice. There is some flavours there, its rich and honeyed, almonds, hint of berries maybe, slight fruitiness to it. The finish is better than the palate. Its a good length, slight smoke and peppery spice to it.

I want to love this Whisky, and I do love it. It's great, the only thing that lets it down is the taste in my opinion, however, that would seem to be the biggest part of any Whisky surely? Maybe its the filtration process (something I shall blog about another day), maybe its not quite strong enough? But the flavours, some how seem muted. Please don't let me put you off it. Its a classy malt, it is certainly a malt for people with delicate palettes, if you like your Whisky light and delicate then this is a winner by far. If you like peaty, smokey, roll you on the floor and kick you in the back Whisky, your going to wonder what happened to the volume on this one.

The score I am struggling with... I want to score it high I really do, I really did enjoy it, I just wish there was more to it.... OK...

7.10 out of 10. Nice with a meal, as an entrance to Whisky you cant go wrong. If you smoke, your going to struggle with flavours on this one.

The Classic Six

The Classic Malts of Scotland is a selection of six single malt whiskies, launched and marketed together in 1988 by United Distillers and Vintners which is now owned by Diageo. They are often displayed together in bars and liquor stores, and the marketing has proved quite successful. The six malts are:

 

Whisky	Age	Alc. %	Region
Dalwhinnie	15 years	43%	Highland
Talisker	10 years	45.8%	Isle of Skye
Cragganmore	12 years	40%	Speyside
Oban	14 years	43%	West Highland
Lagavulin	16 years	43%	Islay
Glenkinchie	12 years	43%	Lowland

UDV's regions differ from the more conventional categorisations of Highland (and subregion Island), Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Islay. The region of West Highland was created to separate between Oban and Dalwhinnie. Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye, which has never been a whisky region unto itself, but would be in the Island subregion; though this categorisation enabled UDV to include both Talisker and Lagavulin, strongly flavoured malts with strong followings. Campbeltown's association with the distillation of whisky has greatly subsided over the years, leaving merely three working distilleries in the region, none owned by UDV. The Lowlands have fared little better, leaving only four, of which only Glenkinchie is UDV owned.

All six of the "Classic Malts" have released limited edition "Distiller's editions", which are finished in special casks selected by the master distiller at each distillery. Dalwhinnie is finished in Oloroso casks, Glenkinchie in Amontillado, Cragganmore in Port, Oban in Fino sherry from Montilla, Talisker in amoroso sherry, and Lagavulin in Pedro Ximénez sherry.

Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old

Dalwhinnie 15 year old

ABV: 43.5%

What the professionals say:

Delicate yet aromatic on the nose, hints of toffee, fruit salad, lush nectarine, custard. Floral, apple blossom, honeysuckle. Apple peels, pear, touch of smoke.

It tastes malty. Walnuts steeped in manuka honey with vanilla sponge. Gentle smoke weaves its way through the cereal with a touch of spice.

With a long, malty, walnut, almond finish.

What I think:

This is a Speyside Whisky, coming out of the light 'lunchtime' (Please drink responsibly) whiskies camp of Speyside. It is probably the most underrated malt within the classic six. As to why this is, I am not sure. Maybe it is because some people would define it as bland. It certainly does not have the massive flavours of some Whiskies, it has a hint of smoke, yet it does not drown you in peat.

I was surprised when I first tasted this Whisky, described as medium bodied and at 15 years of age, part of the classic six, you expect it to be strong flavoured, to be bold, for want of a better word. Instead it is very light in colour, unassuming on the nose, with delicate hints and a subtleness of flavours that I could not distinguish between. Sweet, definitely, something creamy and hints of vanilla... was about all I could muster.

On the tongue it tastes sharp. I'm not sure where the professionals get there flavours from. The first sip was not the most enjoyable experience I have ever encountered with tasting whisky, sharp, slightly acrid, maybe even woody. Yet it soon settles down, and by the second glass i had begun to enjoy the subtle flavours. Slightly sweet, yet sharp, woody, hint of smoke. Delicate yet sharp and clean tasting, it does have a hidden depth to it, yet is not apparent on first taste.

All in all not a bad Whisky, takes some time to appreciate. Light, delicate, sharp yet sweet and none of these things are necessarily bad!

6.75 out of 10 - Probably deserves higher, but too subtle and gentle for my palette.