Quick notes on the Cragganmore 12 Year Old tasted at Nihon, who has a fantastic collection.
Nose: Sherry oak, grapefruit, vanilla, a little rum cake…but most importantly, Juicy Fruit gum, and I mean that in a good way. A complex embracing nose.
Palate: This one attacked the palate more than I expected, it was strong and surprisingly different than the nose. There were still sherry notes and caramel, and a Speyside floral-ness, but I found a muskiness and bitter fruit notes as well. Hovering over this all was a nice burnt leaves/dry smoke layer, the strength of which kind of surprised me.
Finish: Medium-long, all of the above mingle and slide away, with the smoke sticking around the longest
Thoughts: Interesting, beguiling even. The difference between the smell and the taste was an appealing difference, not a stark, off-putting one. To quote my tasting partner, “this is a relatively simple, salt-of-the-earth Scotch that is dressed up for a fancy night on the town.”
Cragganmore 12 Year Old, Speyside
40% ABV
Score: 87
THE CASKS 
Cragganmore 12 year old is one of my all-time favorite single malts. Try it with a teaspoon of water and new layers of complexity will appear in the flavor profile.
This scotch can serve as a great introduction to single malts for the novice. Anyone who says they do not understand the fascination with single malts needs to try this dram. Nice to see someone else likes this very underrated dram!
To steal a note from Jason Debly of Jason’s Scotch Whisky Review (never has tere been a more acurate comment than this)
I never truly understood the meaning of the term “complexity” with respect to scotch tastings until I tried Cragganmore 12 years old. An impressive tapestry of flavors to consider.
This truly is a delight at any time wether a novice or a die hard you will not tier of the malt.