About Cragganmore
(Crag-an-MOOR) Cragganmore was founded in 1869 by John Smith at Ballindalloch in Speyside. Smith had already worked at distilleries including The Glenlivet, Macallan, Glenfarclas and Wishaw before building Cragganmore, and the site was chosen with transport in mind: it became the first distillery in Speyside designed to take direct advantage of railway access. The name comes from the nearby craggy hill, Creag Mhòr.
The distillery is known for production details that have remained a major part of its identity, particularly its unusual flat-topped stills and traditional worm tub condensers. Those choices help shape the rich, complex style Cragganmore is known for. After John Smith’s death, the distillery passed through family ownership before White Horse Distillers and the Macpherson-Grant family became joint owners in 1923. DCL took full control in 1965, and Cragganmore later became one of the six original Classic Malts in 1988, which gave it a much higher profile as a single malt than it had for most of its working life.