Cameronbridge Distillery
Cameronbridge is not only the oldest grain distillery in Europe, its also the largest producer of grain whisky in Europe.
Founded in 1824 by John Haig, who installed a Patent still which had been invented by his cousin Robert Stein in 1829, this was to enable him to produce grain whisky on a grand scale. The distillery was running with two Stein, two Coffey and a pot still in the mid 1880s and by 1929 the last of the original Stein Patent stills was mothballed, the more upgraded and larger Coffey stills were left to do the work..
The distillery is today under the ownership of drinks giant Diageo and is the prime producer of grain whisky for the majority of their blends. With a capacity to produce a staggering 140,000,000 L of alcohol per year this distillery is beyond the typical style and has to be placed in the factory category..
With the majority of the liquid going into Diageo’s blends there is also the Haig single label and Cameron Brig labels taking grain straight from the distillery as official bottlings. Independent bottlers are also jumping on the grain band wagon in a big way as the customer now see’s it as a cheaper alternative to the single malt and its price explosion..
27 Year Old Cameronbridge Single Grain
Distillery.. Cameronbridge
Region.. Lowland
Age.. 27 years
Abv.. 51.5%
Cask.. Refill Hogshead – # 13175
As with all of the Old Particular releases this is non chill filtered and natural colour.
Nose.. An initial sweetness arises with vanilla, toffee and heather honey, a little fruit notes keeps appearing with chocolate and hints of spices.
Palate.. A little more spice appears in the form of cinnamon and ginger before a tangy bitter orange peel note pops in along with chocolate and digestive biscuit flavours..
Finish.. Lingering spice and soft sweetness
Thoughts.. This is quite a nice dram and really highlights the strength of single grain whiskies.. The only thing to watch with this expression is this is a 50cl bottle and when you think you are buying a 70cl then it certainly catches you out.. Not sure when Douglas Laing reverted to these 50cl releases but you have been warned..
That said the whisky quality is certainly still there and cannot be questioned, the price did seem to match the 70cl equivalents but we just need to be more vigilant in future.. A great expression and certainly miles better than the Haig grain that hails from the same distillery..
ocdwhisky.com 