Cameronbridge 27 Year Single Cask Review
In-Depth Review
If you were asked what the biggest distillery in Scotland is, what would you say? The Macallan? Glenlivet? Glenfiddich? You’d be wrong. The title of largest Scotch distillery belongs to Cameronbridge - a massive distillery located near the eastern shore. And while it may not have a well-known household name, but it ranks as the largest and most prolific distillery in all of Scotland. With a capacity of 136 million liters a year, this means that Cameronbridge can make roughly 200x as much Scotch whisky as Oban distillery. And yet why don’t you see Cameronbridge whisky on your local liquor store shelf? Most of its grain whisky is used blends like Jonnie Walker and Buchanan’s. Part of the Diageo beverage group, Cameronbridge is arguably the oldest continuously operated distillery in Scotland as well, being founded in 1824. Cameronbridge itself has no official distillery bottlings and therefore can only be found through independent bottlers.
This Douglas Laing independent bottling is 27 years old and was filled in October of 1991. This single cask selected by the fantastic K&L Wine Merchants in California and features non-chill filtration and natural color. It clocks in at a cask strength of 54.3% and is part of K&L’s ongoing goal of showcasing single grain as a great alternative to traditional (and much more expensive) single malts.
Age: 27 Year
ABV: 54.3%
Cask: Refill Sherry Butt
MSRP: $79.99
Distillery Name: Cameronbridge
Review Date: 12/31/20
Color: Yellowed Caramel
Nose: Did I just walk into a confectionary shop? The nose is full of sweetness and features banana, mango, and caramel candies. More ripe green fruits mixed with powdered sugar, spun sugar, and a small whiff of ethanol. Its nose comes off as very rum-like and promises an experience very different than traditional single malts.
Palate: After 27 years in a cask this whisky has picked up some Jamaican rum funk along the way. The hundreds of esters that make Jamaican rum so unique seem to have found their way to Scotland because this pour has a lot going on. It develops into a sweet and tangy rollercoaster with more fruits, some thick oak notes, and a splash of leather that tries (somewhat unsuccessfully) to balance some of the sweetness. The sweet notes feature burnt and overripe fruits and a hint of old banana laffy taffy. There are also some darker sweeteners like stale brown sugar and molasses that further add to that funk. Initially it drinks quite light for a 54.3% cask strength whisky, but as the sweetness settles into the glass, the body seems to get heavier as it opens up. The mouthfeel is pretty good, but doesn’t have the strong presence that most cask strength scotches do.
Finish: Medium finish featuring some acidity and tartness. While the fruit sweetness of the palate is still present, there is a lingering spice and a tangy zest on the finish that keeps this whisky from being an over-the-top sweet assault.
Final Thoughts: Let’s first get the fact that it’s practically unheard of to get a 27 year Scotch for less than $80 nowadays. And yet, K&L pulled it off with this single grain whisky in late 2019. So on value alone this is a stellar experience. But when we put the value aside and just examine the liquid in the bottle, some issues arise.
Primarily, the Jamaican funk puts me off slightly. It feels like I am drinking Appleton Estate rather than a cask-strength Scotch whisky. If wanted rum, I would have picked up a bottle of my favorite Foursquare instead of this. And I love rum. It’s just that in this situation, the funky overripe fruit flavors definitely put me off.
That’s not to say I don’t like this whisky – I do. It’s just not something I’ve found myself reaching for all the time. And that seems odd to say about a 27 year old Scotch whisky with all the bonafides this brings to the table. I like it. I just don’t love it as much as I thought I would.
