Cragganmore

[OscarV]

I've had this bottle of Cragganmore for a couple of years now but I just can't seem to get to it.

I have so many bourbons to choose from.

It is;

The Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Signatory Vintage

Speyside Single Malt

Question, what does all of the above mean?

Other info on the bottle;

Age: 16 years

Distilled: 18 April 1989

Bottled: 25 July 2005

Matured in: Hogshead

Cask No.: 990

Bottle No.: 241 of 366

So what should I expect?

The only other scotch's I have had are,...

Johnnie Walker Red, didn't like it

Johnnie Walker Black, good on the rocks

Johnnie Walker Blue, stellar, could still taste it an hour later

Chivas Regal, OK but after I found JWB I never went back

Laphroaig 15yo, wow, now I know what they mean by peat monster, I have been working on this bottle since last Winter and only about 3 fingers left, I do like it.

[barturtle]

The Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Signatory Vintage

Speyside Single Malt

I'll start here:

Most whiskies are of course chill filtered, this isn't

Signatory is an independent bottler, Scotch is pretty cool, in that for the most part, if the spirit in the bottle comes from some place in particular you can actually put that on the bottle, this would be like getting a bottle of Wild Turkey distilled bourbon from KBD that actually said Wild Turkey on the label.

Speyside is one of the distilling regions of Scotland: Speyside, Highland, Lowland, Island, Campbeltown and Islay.

What to expect...I'll leave this to the pros. Here is a good page with basic info on the distillery, general taste profile and links to several bottlings, both distillery releases and independent bottlers.

[sku]

Cragganmore is a well regarded Speysider. I find it pretty typical of the general style there: Smooth, some malt, well balanced, not much in the way of smoke. It's a nice and quite popular malt, though not one of my favorites.

It's not too comparable to the other whiskies you've listed. The Walkers are, of course, blends. Cragganmore is a single malt. It is actually a component of JW Green, but it doesn't have too much in common with the red, black or blue. If anything, the flavor profile is probably more similar to Chivas, but it's much better than the basic Chivas. In general, single malts are going to pack more of a flavor punch than blends.

Give it a try.

[Jono]

I enjoy Cragganmore but don't have your bottle....as stated above...a nice pour. Another informative site:

http://www.lovescotch.com/productDetail.php?pid=646 < Review

http://www.whisky.com/brands/cragganmore_brand.html < Distillery

[AVB]

The Hogshead also tells you that it was stored in a wine barrel since ex-bourbon barrels that are commonly used are not hogsheads.

[boss302]

The Hogshead also tells you that it was stored in a wine barrel since ex-bourbon barrels that are commonly used are not hogsheads.

The term Hogshead is, at least in my (admittedly limited) experience, usually used in the context of Madeira wine.

If so, this should be a very tasty dram-- Madeira-finished whiskies are some of my faves!