Fans of Cragganmore, the Diageo-owned single malt producer, often enjoy the fact that their favourite producer sometimes slips under the radar

Despite its arrival in the Diageo stable as one of the original Classic Malts and some superb releases since, Cragganmore Distillery has missed out on much of the applause its near-neighbours have received in Speyside. This, undoubtedly, is linked to its small number of core bottles and continued use in Diageo blends. But even with that, Cragganmore’s name doesn’t resound among whisky fans the way that you might expect.

Cragganmore is a lightly-peated single malt, matured in a series of bourbon, sherry and port casks in its dunnage warehouses in Strathspey, near the banks of the River Spey. It’s been here since 1869 but under Diageo’s tutelage since 1997.

The distillery employs a fermentation time of a minimum of 50 hours and has a reputation for being one of the more complex single malts in Speyside. There are a small number of official releases and then an equally small number of independent bottlings and one-off releases. Compared to its neighbours this is a tiny stable, which makes putting it under the gaze of awards juries a bit tougher. 

Despite that, Cragganmore produces superb single malt with a distinctive personality and distillery DNA. Here are four bottles from our shelves to help you get to know the brand.

Cragganmore Distiller’s Edition

Distiller’s Edition is a series of annual Diageo releases sourced from each of the drinks conglomerate’s Scottish distilleries. Designed in limited quantities to showcase the breadth of Diageo’s stable, this Cragganmore release is from the 2022 edition. 

Double matured in port-seasoned American refill casks, this complex single malt has a light to medium body and a strong gold colour. The port maturation imparts lots of sweetness and dark fruit to the whisky, giving it a wonderful wine nose. There’s also a wisp of smoke in the aroma. 

On the palate, you’ll find lots of vanilla, sweet and juicy fruit notes, and light wood spice. The finish is medium but packed with spice, oak, and cocoa notes. Bottled at 40%, Diageo presents this release as a bottle that represents master craftsmanship.

Cragganmore Old & Rare 26 1995

Old & Rare is a single cask series created by the independent bottlers Hunt & Laing. It’s an incredible opportunity to taste the wares of some incredibly mature whisky but at a price that can’t be beaten. Unlike the bottles that come directly from the distillery, the Old & Rare releases are often at a fraction of the price. 

This bottle is a special case in point, having spent 26 years in an all-sherry butt before being bottled at 54.8%. This is a wonderful whisky that bursts with dark fruit flavours, spice and lots of oak.

Laid down in 1995, it was bottled in 2022, and only 300 bottles of this wonderfully complex single malt are available. 

Cragganmore Special Releases 2016

Cragganmore makes a regular appearance in Diageo’s annual Special Releases series and so it was in 2016 when this 55.7% single malt appeared in the lineup. Matured in American hogsheads and ex-sherry casks, it’s stuffed with meaty flavours and rich, warm fruit notes.

This is a whisky to indulge yourself with. It’s a non-age statement release but has all the weight and thick texture that a well-matured bottle offers and has deep layers of citrus, spice and plums. 

Diageo released a little less than 5,000 of these elegant bottles and they were a huge hit with Cragganmore fans at the time.  

Cragganmore 1971 43-Year-Old

When this magnificent bottling of Cragganmore 1971 hit the shelves of Dubai Duty Free in 2015 this very special travel retail release was the oldest bottling of its kind. 

It was a single-cask release, matured in a single European oak cask for its full maturation. Bottled at 47.4%, there were only 474 bottles released.

This distillery bottling was created exclusively for the United Arab Emirates market. With a rich and elegant pour, this bottle is designed to capture everything Cragganmore stands for – excellent single malt, long maturation periods, and handcrafted cask selection. It is a cornerstone collector’s bottle.  

Click here to see more of our Speyside releases