Tasting Duncan Taylor Rare Auld : Cragganmore X 2

As promised, i will be tasting a few Duncan Taylor bottlings from the Rare Auld line. All the Rare Auld expressions are at least 18 years of age, Single Cask, Cask Strength, Non Chill filtered …

I’ve tasted only the basic 12 year old Cragganmore before, on a few occasions, and i really liked it, but I never had the pleasure of tasting the older versions, let alone at cask-strength. You can only imagine how happy i was to try those two expressions.

The two are quite similar, besides being aged in two separate casks, for 18 years. It’s interesting to see how two different casks bestow the same, but also some different notes to the spirit inside.

Duncan Taylor Cragganmore , 18 yo, cask 374 , 53.4% ,£58

Nose:  Malt, citrus, and fruit , mixed with some spices. some honey and pollen

Palate: Sweet, some dried fruit, chocolate (milk), spice, cinnamon,peppery and quite spicy.

Finish : Medium, chocolaty pepperiness, delicious!

Score  : 89/100

Duncan Taylor Cragganmore 18 yo , cask 372, 55.7%, ,£58

Nose: Spicy wood, grassy  and citrus notes (i was not expecting this) , then some vanilla and fruit. very fresh!

Palate: malty, woody, and spicy. some chocolate, and a bitter note on the ending, also a bit of a sting on the tongue, chilly and spicy.

Finish : Bitter note which i don’t quite like, then ending on chocolate/ cocoa.

Score : 87/100

Bottom line: Both are very good drams, I  preferred cask #374 as it displayed less of the bitter notes on the finish, and was more peppery and spicy. Both are very enjoyable and of of great quality.

Sincere thanks to Mark of Duncan Taylor for the official samples.