Cragganmore 12 Year Old

Cragganmore 12 YO is one of Diageo's six "Classic Malts of Scotland". The reviewed 200 ml bottle has been open 2 years, is 2/3rds full, and preserved with inert gas for the last 15 months. The review is of the whisky at present

Nose: the barley-malt shows sweet and tart citrus; there is also just a hint of grape fruitiness, and very light wood influence. There is no significantly noticeable smoke and only the faintest hint of peat. This nose is straightforward, pleasant, inoffensive, but not remarkable

Taste: this has gotten a lot richer in the mouth by having taken air for a long period of time; the translation of flavours from the nose is good, but those flavours were not too remarkable to begin with. Long aired, this has become quite sweet, quite citrusy, and with more noticeable fruitiness than in the nose. At first, and for at least the first year, this was a good bit more staid and ultra-restrained. I have to give this at least 2 more points than I would have for the bottle's first year

Finish: for the first year-plus, this would have been quite the continuation of a muted finish of a muted nose and palate. NOW, it continues a very sweet and sour citrusy and fruity-of-grape palate for a medium-long finish. 2 more points for this now, than before,...also

Balance: Cragganmore 12 is a malt which divides people. Those who like the basic, and I mean BASIC, flavours of barley-malt, often like this just fine. I have always found Cragganmore 12 to be quite pleasant and enjoyable. There is really no "WOW" factor present, though, for those who seek one out

I was surprised by how much this bottle changed after being very long open. Cragganmore 12 is a whisky of which I am happy to take a dram, but of which I will probably not anytime in the foreseeable future buy a 700 or 750 ml bottle. I probably would have scored this around 79 for the first year the bottle was open

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