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Speyside whisky is often thought of as light and floral. Cragganmore Distillers Edition shows how rich and complex it can be. This limited annual release takes Cragganmore’s famously layered single malt and finishes it in casks seasoned with port wine. The result is juicy red fruit, sweet malt, toasted oak and a gentle wisp of smoke, ending on vanilla, banana and cocoa.
It is a perfect after-dinner whisky and a great bottle for anyone who loves fruity, dessert-like flavours with a bit more depth.
The whisky first matures in oak, then moves into re-charred American oak casks that have been seasoned with port, the rich fortified wine from Portugal’s Douro Valley. This “double maturation” adds layers of red berries, strawberry and dark fruit sweetness to Cragganmore’s malty character.
Distillers Editions are released once a year in limited quantities, and each one shows its distillation and bottling years on the label. Recent Cragganmore editions have spent around 12 years in oak before bottling.
Diageo has released Distillers Editions every year since 1997. Each distillery uses a different finishing cask: Cragganmore uses port, while its sister editions use sherry, Moscatel or Montilla Fino. It’s a great series for anyone who enjoys comparing how a cask changes a whisky.
Port and sherry are both fortified wines, and both are used to season whisky casks, but they give quite different results.
If you already enjoy sherried whiskies, a port finish like this one is a natural next step, with brighter, berry-led fruit.
Juicy red fruit and sweet malt, with strawberries, redcurrants, roasted chestnuts and a little smoke.
Sweet fruit, malt and oak, with honeycomb, walnut, orange and gentle smoky notes.
Drying oak with banana, vanilla and cocoa, and a hint of chocolate truffle.
Think strawberries and cream, a toasted walnut and a square of dark chocolate. It’s a whisky to sip slowly and enjoy how the flavours change in the glass.
Pour a measure into a nosing glass and let it open up for a couple of minutes. The port finish makes it a natural after-dinner dram.
A few drops of water soften the oak and bring out more vanilla, caramel and red fruit.
Try it with a cheese board (especially Stilton or aged Cheddar), chocolate desserts, strawberries, Black Forest gateau or roasted nuts. Port and cheese are a classic match, and this whisky follows the same idea.
Cragganmore was founded in 1869 by John Smith, one of the most experienced distillers of his day, on land leased from Sir George Macpherson-Grant at Ballindalloch. Smith chose the site partly because it was close to the new Strathspey Railway, which made it easy to bring in barley and send out whisky. The old railway line is now part of the Speyside Way walking route.
Cragganmore’s spirit stills are short and have unusual flat tops. This shape changes how the vapour moves inside the still and helps give Cragganmore its complex, distinctive spirit, part of the reason it tastes richer and more layered than many Speyside malts. The distillery takes its water from the Craggan Burn.
When United Distillers launched its Classic Malts collection, Cragganmore was chosen to represent Speyside, alongside famous names from other regions such as Lagavulin, Talisker and Oban. Today the distillery is owned by Diageo.
If you enjoy the rich, fortified-wine fruit of a port finish, try Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask, an unpeated Speyside single malt with sherry-cask depth, red apple, toffee and chocolate.
For more ideas, read our guide to the 10 best single malt Scotch whiskies to buy in 2026, or browse every Speyside single malt in our shop.
Say it “crag-an-MORE”, with the stress on “MORE”.
After its main maturation, the whisky spends extra time in casks seasoned with port wine. These casks add red fruit, sweetness and richness.
Only very slightly. It has a gentle hint of smoke in the background, but fruit, malt and oak are the main flavours.
Yes. It is released once a year in limited quantities, with the distillation and bottling years shown on the label.
The 12 Year Old is the distillery’s classic bottling. The Distillers Edition adds a port cask finish, which makes it fruitier, sweeter and richer.
Cragganmore is owned by Diageo, the drinks group behind Johnnie Walker.
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