Cragganmore Distillers Edition

So in Ohio (never move here) we have these stores that are "last chance liquor stores" where the state often throws away their unsellable whisky. I got this for about 35 bucks and frankly didn't do any research before the purchase given the price. 2005-2018 so 12 or 13 years old. Looks very colored and comes in at a pathetic 40%. Nose - i get perhaps a plum or dark berry, honey, and I know this is weird but I kinda get some armagnac notes (maybe because I had some to start might sipping off tonight). Taste - Vanilla, honey, baking spice, then I get a slightly savory note on the finish. Ok so this is actually good. Very good even. The mouth feel sucks. The abv is a joke. the coloring annoys me. But it's really easy drinking, simple, and tasting whisky. This is a good dram for someone who's never had scotch before or even whisky. For advanced whisky drinkers, this is a nice end of the night when you want a few more pours or one to start the night so it doesn't spoil your tastes. 1.75 - I feel that's high but it's really decent stuff. Retail is more like 80-100 and at that price, HELL NO.

The waitress comes to my table and I order Crown Royal, this being France, she frowns and mouths something back along the lines of "Crown Royal". She comes back with a fine dram, but it tastes different... I'm greeted by something between Dalwhinnie 15, G. Rozelieures Rare and Kavalan Port Finish, I can taste continental oak and wine cask flavours, a mild spice, some caramel and chocolate creaminess, finishing with some elegant dryness echoing peat and sherry, at one point, I even pick up litchi... but Dalwhinnie, Kavalan and G. Rozelieures pull off these flavours a lot better, sure it's delicious, but I remember Crown Royal being better, that strength, that funkiness is gone, there is only malt. I realise at the end that the waitress mistook Crown Royal with Cragganmore Distillers Edition, which made me and her embarrassed. The next day, I tried and fell in love with Cragganmore 12 Years, much better!

The usual intense gold (and fake) color of Cragganmore, the label merits to be mentioned, baroque yet elegant. The sense of smell is caressed by a calm sweetness, of red fruit and a pinch of raisins, almost a sherried note that joins that of the Port. Not very complex but penetrating. The fruit triumphs in the mouth as in the nose (in detail, cherry, raspberries, a pinch of apple and more raisins), whose sweetness is however dryer and with a bitter vibrato. A peppery note is added to the company, which on the whole is a bit uneven: the elegance of the Cragganmore 12 seems ruffled by this finish (unspecified over time) in Porto, which in my opinion does not do fair to this whisky (at least in this vintage). Medium finish, dry and sweet.

Some professionals in the whisky industry cringe when people complement their product as “smooth” but it’s the first adjective that comes to mind when drinking this. It really goes down like a warm honey, with a long aftertaste that is just the right amount of sweet. There’s not much of a nose to speak of, and you have to search hard for a trace of peat, but it hits the spot as an easy drinker. If you’re looking for something akin to a session whisky, you could do a lot worse than this.

I'm giving it a three, but depending on my moods it can merit a four. It's quite complex. Very nutty on the nose, with fruit cake and almonds being predominant. The palate is spicy and tropical, with banana and orange surfacing on the tongue. The finish is winy, obviously from the port influence, and fairly long. I think my issue with this expression is by how unbalanced it can all seem at times. It's unruly. Still, worth exploring.

CRAGGANMORE 2005 12YO DISTILLERS EDITION 40% - 2ND TRY - fruity, pleasant sweet, vanilla, playful floral honey 3 sweetness, light toasted honey bread, mid pepper, oak, dry and bitterness to the back 1.75 short finish, oak 1 1.75 cragganmore 2005 12YO DISTILLERS EDITION 40% Cotton candy, smooth sweetness, leathery 2.75 Bland, light pear delicate, slight pepz 2 Pearish 2 2