Exclusive Malts Cameronbridge 25 Year Old Scotch Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A

This bottling from Exclusive Malts follows a vintage from 1991, and should not be confused with it. Both are 25 year olds, but because we’re looking at two different (albeit similar) bottlings of single cask, cask strength whiskies, they are cousins and should be seen as such. Another potential source of confusion is that this is a single grain whisky, this despite the name of the series it’s in. This 1992, 25 year old single malt is a cask strength, single cask from an ex-Sherry butt, a bottling that yielded 474 bottles at 53.1% ABV.

The distillery, Cameronbridge, is located about 15 miles from Edinburgh, with the River Leven actually flowing through the property. Having a river splitting the property in two explains the distillery name. Founded in 1824, it is among the oldest continuously operating distilleries in Scotland. and is definitely the oldest continuously operating grain distilleries. It is sometimes also known as the Haig Distillery. The production capacity of 100 million liters of alcohol per year towers above that of any other distillery in Scotland.

The Scotch
This grain whisky is bronzed, dark and moody in the glass. The swish forms a sticky, solid coating, one that forms a crown of beads rather than dropping actual tears.

The scent sits in a place where a youngish tawny Port, dry straw and oak all come together. After 25 years in a Sherry butt, the presence of the Sherry and the wood is quite solid, but that straw aspect speaks a bit to the grain spirit, and that is something of a surprise for a lighter spirit after all this time.

The flavor is more of the same, but both richer and stronger. The woodiness, in fact, turns a bit astringent, and combined with the relatively high alcohol content (for a Scotch Whisky) makes it a little hot. So, in went a few drops of water. That done, the Sherried aspects of lush, boozy fruitcake emerged in full force, supported by seasoned oak and a hint of cereal. The finish carried some alcohol-soaked raisins, but this faded quickly, leaving a light coating of spiciness.

Although it’s a bit odd that a whisky sitting at merely 106 proof should be running hot, once that is dialed down what you have is a well-aged, middling Sherry bomb of a single grain whisky.

The Price
The kicker here is that this is going for just $150, quite reasonable considering what it is. Grain whiskies draw less attention than malts, which is a good thing for Sherried whisky lovers in this instance, because it’s probably why this item is so fairly priced..