Color: Deeper gold
Nose: Strong sweet spices like cinammon and nutmeg decorate a palate of raisin, vanilla, and orange rind, with whispers of strawberry.
Palate: Pronounced oaky spice. Some honey sweetness is not quite enough to cover oak bitterness. Slightly oily.
Finish: Short and light toffee, with much lingering spice.
I bought this Duty Free based on good experience with another Cragganmore. The fact that it was a "Distiller's Edition" and aged in port wine barrels made it more enticing. There are plenty of whiskeys that are more bitter, but I wish this one spent more time sweetening in the port barrels, to smoothen the strong oak. I can like the peppery spice, however, so this could be an interesting base Rusty Nail-- just a couple drops of Drambuie might sew this up....
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