Whisky: Cameronbridge 27 Year (1990), Jack Wiebers Cask 271

Country/Region: Scotland/Lowland Grain

ABV: 59.1%

Cask: Sherry Finish

Age: 27 Years (Distilled 1990, Bottled 2017)

Nose: Dried fruits with ample licorice, anise, cinnamon, and a kiss of clove; more leather and syrupy plums or dates further in; lacquered wood and cedar with subtle burning incense, more old wood, resin, and hints of plasticine.

Palate: Full-bodied and syrupy, rich dried fruits, dark chocolate with dark roasted coffee, birch bark, pine nettles, and polished lacquered wood; tannic and a bit drying with subtle orange, anise and clove; hints of cherries and cherry pits, burning incense, resin, and warm cedar wood.

Finish: Long and slightly drying with wood, dried fruit, and resin.

Score: 8  (87)

Mental Image: Bucolic Winter Monastery

Narrative & Notes: My expectations for this were not high— my only prior encounter with Cameronbridge was not inspiring, and my experience with heavily sherried grain whiskies has been decidedly mixed.  So I did not expect to find a whole lot to love here, but by golly, this was delicious.  The cask did a lot of heavy lifting; the grain virtually disappeared in the background, so thank goodness it was an excellent cask.

Usually, something like this would be over-oaked for my taste, yet this was surprisingly balanced and complex even though it was very much a wood-forward profile.  The aroma was rich and varied, and while the palate was a touch more closed off, it was still incredibly well-structured and coherent, with a beautiful interplay between wood, spice, and fruit.  A few drops of water opened things up so that more leather and incense arrived while the dried fruits, mostly plum and date, lingered longer.

Overall, defying all expectations, this was fabulous and one of the best-sherried whiskies I have had in a while, much less one of the better single grains.  I would not pull this off the shelf often; it requires the right mood, but considering the wine-heavy influence on the flavors, I imagine this pairs beautifully with a bit of cheese.

Image Credit: Whiskybase

About Cameronbridge

The largest and last remaining of Diageo’s grain distilleries (not counting the joint ownership stake it has in North British), Cameronbridge is an absolute behemoth. Opened in 1824 by John Haig, whose family was already well-established as whisky makers, the distillery was one of the founding members of Distillers Company Limited in 1877. The new company, born out of an alliance of grain distillers, controlled most grain whisky production in Scotland, gradually growing to dominate the entire scotch whisky industry in the twentieth century. The distillery was significantly renovated and expanded between 1989 and 1991, with an additional round of expansion in 2007 preceding the closure of the Port Dundas grain distillery. The distillery also produces the Tanqueray Gin and Smirnoff Vodka.

While Cameronbridge can most commonly be encountered in Haig Club and the many different blends under the Diageo umbrella, there have been occasional official single grain bottlings, including a 26-year as part of Diageo’s 2022 Special Release lineup. Independent bottlings are uncommon but not rare. A healthy portion of Cameronbridge’s grain whisky can be found in most Compass Box Hedonism releases.