Cragganmore 1978 SMWS 28 Year Old 37.30 75cl / US Import

Cragganmore distillery was built by John Smith at the end of the 19th century. An astute businessman, he selected the location of his distillery to facilitate easy trade with his customers, and produced spirit geared fully towards the needs of the blending companies. It was not long before it was considered one of the finest for such a purpose, and the distillery was eventually acquired by White Horse Distillers. When White Horse were bought by DCL, its subsequent iteration, United Distillers, selected it as part of their Classic Malts series in 1988, officially launching its single malt brand. Despite this, its importance to Diageo's blends means that other distillery bottlings are scarce, and it remains somewhat of a hidden gem. Thankfully, the occasional casks have been made available to independent bottlers over the years.

This Cragganmore was distilled in June 1978 and matured in a single cask for 28 years. It was bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in June 2006 for the American market.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.