Cragganmore 12 Year Old

I've tried many, many single malt scotches through the "standard scotch" price point (in my area, something like $30-50/bottle). This is the one I consistently come back to as my "everyday" scotch. The key word here is balance. The nose has nice oak notes, though nothing overmuch. The body of the scotch has some nice light citrus, as well as a little faint hint of peat. It's impressively smooth, but not so much so that it lacks finish entirely.

All that combines for a bottle that's just spectacularly even-handed. It's got hints of everything that makes good scotches great, blended together into a wonderfully balanced mix that is likely to satisfy whatever craving brings you to a bottle of scotch.

If you like scotch, I think you will, with near certainty, like this bottle. And if you're like me, you may find yourself coming back to it quite a few times.

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