Review #612 - Claxton's Cameronbridge 30 Year Single Cask
A relative newcomer in the independent bottling world, Claxton's bottles whiskies from a variety of distilleries. Some of these are single grain whiskies, including this example from Cameronbridge, which is part of their 'Exclusives' line - this whisky carries a handsome 30 year age statement, with a distillation vintage of 1992.
This grain distillery, located in the Lowland region of Scotland, has a massive annual output: well over 100 million LPA. While most of its product is used for blends by Diageo, some casks are do make their way to independents; single grain whisky is also seeing growth in recent years as a value alternative to single malts, where higher age statements come with a huge price premium.
This single cask of Cameronbridge grain whisky spent time aging in a first fill ex-brandy quarter cask, and at the end of the maturation, 156 bottles were yielded at 48.9% ABV.
Claxton's Cameronbridge 30 Year Single Cask
Scotland - Single Grain
Price: USD 200 (2025)
Age Statement: 30 Years
Strength: 48.9% ABV
Cask Makeup: First fill ex-brandy quarter cask
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled September 10, 1992; bottled June 16, 2023; 156 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 9 months; bottles at 90%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Lots of sweet notes to start - butterscotch, perfumed oak, creamy grain, and brown sugar. Raw oats or oatmeal add to the grain side, and there's some vanilla and a spice like anise; it grows more dusty and oaky with time, like old antique furniture. In the background, we get a subtle hint of purple fruit - grape.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. Sweet brown sugar oatmeal, caramel, and maple syrup greet us, followed by butterscotch and a spicy side: wood spice, black licorice candies. Orange and grape notes add a strong fruity character, and we get just a hint of polished oak.
Finish: Warm spiced caramel, brown sugar, tons of creamy grain. There's a nice texture lingering into this finish, and it leans sweet; it grows a bit more simple or straightforward, but we still get pleasant vanilla and cinnamon notes. It's a medium-long finish.
Final Note: This is a solid whisky - a nice mixture of baking notes, fruits, and spice. The oak profile is quite reserved for a 30 year old whisky, but we do get some of that perfumed wood on the nose; the fruit from the brandy influence was quite subtle at first, but opened up a lot in the palate. Moderate complexity - this is a good whisky to sip without digging too far into it.
Value here is a little tricky; in terms of flavor, it's mediocre value for $200. That said, for a whisky with a 30 year age statement, this is about as cheap as it gets - for that reason, there's still a value proposition.
Our Average Rating: 7.3 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.02
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Scotch single grain whisky reviews:
Review #596 - Signatory Vintage Port Dundas 16 Year Single Cask
