Signatory 30th Annv Cragganmore 1985
$985.99
Region:Scotland > Speyside
Bottled to mark Signatory's 30th Anniversary, only 2 bottles are coming to Canada, and we are opening one of them for a pair of tastings. 88pts Serge at WhiskyFun.org. Bottled at 33 years and 53.4%. One of the surprise standouts of our Signatory 30th Anniversary Tastings!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: creamy, waxy, honeyed and floral with clotted cream and a basket of mixed orchard fruits; bursting with vanilla, beeswax and dewy summer gadens; sage and lavender; apples, peaches and melons; soft, decadent toasted oak; trending toward tropical fruits.
Palate: still waxy, bursting with honey, vanilla and settling in to toasted oak and clotted cream; bursting with sweet caramel and more orchard fruits: candy apple, peaches n cream, midori mellon and even brighter tropical fruits: kiwis and pineapple; decadent spcices start to build along with savoury floral tones.
Finish: long, coating, warming, decadent and elegant; layers of cream, oak, fruit and spices; starts to show its age at the end, but still within balance.
Comment: this malt showed well during both nights of our Signatory 30th Anniversary Tasting, and it doesn't disappoint here; remarkable how rich, fruity and decadent it is after 33 year with just the faintest trace of bitter oak on the finish; surprising for a presumably fresh, ex-Bourbon Hogshead of this age; possibly the best Cragganmore I've ever had.
88pts Serge
"I find it extremely cool that Signatory would have kept some old Cragganmore! Not that they grow on trees… Colour: pure gold. Nose: wham! Old bourbon, vanilla, earl grey, box of cigars, miso soup, camphor, lavender (touches, do not worry), pine sap, drops of yellow Chartreuse… Perfecto! With water: ho-ho-ho, it’s turning around, with bandages, old ointments, mercurochrome, pine sap, camphor, eucalyptus, Vicks’ very best, assorted pain relieving rubs… Mouth (neat): it’s funny that it would start rather bourbony again (and I mean Papy-y stuff and such), as well as rather plankish – but not problems at all here. Vanilla pods, some herbal teas (many of them), cedar wood… Hope it’ll swim well, could be tricky given the oak… With water: it gets gentler, rather cake-y and a little sour in some corners… All that in a good way. Finish: rather long, flirting with the limits of oakiness at times, which, in my book, will prevent it from making to 90. Oh well, you’re right, who cares… Comments: it’s not impossible that this old Crag’ was better when Signatory celebrated their 20th, but we’re really getting too fussy down here, aren’t we. SGP:451 - 88 points."