An appetising Cragganmore, with the expected complex aromas and smooth Speyside character, while the rich, sweet taste is also unusually intense and wood-spiced after part-ageing in new oak casks.

A mellow nose, with quite some prickle. Deeply wooded, the aroma is complex, with fruity top notes of ripe pear, Ogen melon and green banana, soft leather notes, on a faint base of sanded hardwood. The aromas are sweeter than in regular expressions, yet with savoury undertones.

At natural strength, again the influence of the long years in wood is felt. The texture is creamy-smooth, while the taste is rich and sweet, though not as sweet as the nose may suggest. That richness is soon delightfully balanced by a drying and savoury mid-palate

Long, velvet-smooth, dry and chili-spiced. With water, smoother and longer; sweet-spicy, still with a lingering and now more mellow chilli pepper aftertaste.