Cragganmore is a 2-still distillery currently owned by Diageo and sits next to the Craggan burn. The stills are small and, being only two of them, the production of the distillery is limited. That being said, it is known for being one of the most complex Speyside whiskies. One contributor to the unique taste is that the wash ferments for a long time in wash backs* made of European Larch, one of the few distilleries to still use wooden wash backs. Before launching the single malt offerings, most of the output was used in blends like James Watson Number 10, and is still used today in Old Parr and White Horse.
Tomatin 14 Year
Tomatin has a nice selection of relatively affordable single malts, each with a nice little twist to liven things up. Since we enjoyed the Tomatin 12 year with its sherry cask finish, we decided to see what this slightly older sibling could improve upon with its final eighteen months finishing in port casks. The Tomatin 14 also scored a 92.5/100 in Jim Murray’s 2015 whisky bible and is thankfully a mainstay in their line of offerings. Say what you will about that particular reviewer or book, this scotch seems good enough to warrant further attention.