GLEN MORAY 2004 15YO - DISTILLERY EDITION OB

This will be the last Glen Moray, I'll be reviewing for now...

While I feel the other expressions have been somewhat underpowered - its certainly not the case for this one. More of this, please Glen Moray... or at at least bottle at 46% and don't chill filter - it just takes away too many natural oils and flavors

This one doesn't suffer from either of the above, this is pretty much as close as you get to get your whisky straight from the cask, except for some rough barrier filtering and this is how whisky is supposed to be, IMO

A conclusion of the reviews I've made must be that Glen Moray is whisky very well made - but I knew that already. But as with many of the bigger producers they still fail to see that 40% and chill-filtration just kills off their whisky - with the exception of the one below

Different casks at Glen Moray incl a wine cask. You can recognize a wine cask by its extra hoops around the cask © Glen Moray

Glen Moray 2004 15yo 60,1% Burgundy Cask#213 - Distillery Edition

Nose:
initially a lot of wood, but that was to be expected coming from a wine cask - let's leave it for a bit...

Coming back 10mins later it's now it's bursting with sweetness - marzipan, sweet crushed blackberries, sweet mandarins, and icing sugar, concentrated garden roses and candies apples. After a while, hints of milk chocolate comes through as well.

Taste:
Lovely malty sweet arrival with much of the above mirroring itself on the palate after that. In addition, I get a little more wood than expected from the nose, but nothing invasive.

The wine notes are more dominant now, adding a distinct drying edge to this whisky. If you're a wine drinker it'll not feel invasive, but again, it is distinct. Finally, the alcohol delivery is significant but I do recommend not adding water to this if you can handle the abv% as water brings out more bitter notes, which some might not find desirable.

This sure is a whisky if you have a sweet tooth - and want your flavour delivered with a punch

86/100!

Official sample provided by the Danish importer

GLEN MORAY 10YO 'FIRED OAK' - DISTILLERY BOTTLING

We're on to the next Glen Moray review - this time I'll be reviewing the 10yo 'Fired oak' which is a combination of ex-bourbon and heavily charred fresh American oak casks.

So what does heavily charred oak add to the whisky, I hear you ask?
In this case, the good folk at Glen Moray have chosen to get American oak casks that have never been used before, charred, or burnt of you like, on the inside of the casks to a degreed where the casks produce a layer of charred oak, much like a piece of charcoal - on the outer layer of the oak staves.

This degree of charring brings out a more heavy cask influence than regular oak staves will, as the charring will have brought out more flavor compounds from the oak. The charring will also remove unwanted, usually natural sulphury notes from the maturing spirit - much like charcoal filtering normally do.

However, there is a fine balance to keep when using charred oak for maturation.
Some spirits lighter in character, like e.g. Glen Moray can easily be overpowered by charred oak, IMO - and this is probably why they have chosen to mix it with regular oak cask matured Glen Moray... A wise choice if you ask me!

Let's take a closer look:

Cask rows at a Glen Moray Warehouse © Glen Moray

Glen Moray 10yo 'Fired Oak' - Distillery Bottling

Nose:
Fresh warm baking, hints of orange peel, dark honey and overripe banana.
It's all carried forward by candied apples on a stick. After a while, a strong vanilla note comes through.

Taste:
Quite laid back and very much driven by the fired oak casks, making up what I would think is a large portion of this. A hint of burnt toast, thick malt, burnt caramel and some vanilla notes. The finish continues with quite some wood influence, turning it slightly bitter.

I like the nose on this and flavor-wise this is a notch heavier compared to the Elgin Classic edition. If you're new to whisky you'll either love or hate this as it introduces some new flavors that might need some getting used to. On the other hand, this also produces some more candy, burnt caramel-like notes that might appeal to some.

I actually felt more a sense of original Glen Moray whisky, drinking the 'Elgin Classic' than I do this. Also, I would also be more inclined to pick up the regular 12yo instead if this after comparing (UK) prices.

77/100!

Official sample provided by the Danish Importer

GLEN MORAY 'PORT CASK FINISH' - DISTILLERY BOTTLING

After a short break, I'm back with another Glen Moray review.

Now, I've always liked Port cask matured whisky - 'cause I'm also a Port Wine drinker. However, it comes very much down to if it has spent all its years in a port cask or if it has only been finished.
The latter is the case here... and as always it comes down to a combination of the original casks but especially the quality of the port casks, in my opinion.
I mean, like with whisky there's 'your run off the mill' and there are great quality casks - the same goes for port - There's what your Granny likes for Xmas and then there's the Prime Douro Valley stuff

But let's try this one...

A peak inside a Glen Moray Warehouse © Glen Moray

Glen Moray 'Port Cask Finish' 40% Distillery Bottling

Nose:
As expressive as the 'Egin Classic' was, this is its absolute counterpart - it definitely needs time to open up... zzzZZZzzz and we're back, now picking up some obvious vinous notes, wet cask staves, bung cloth, mint, and whiffs of strawberries

I feel like it's really being held back by either the quality of its initial maturation rather than the Port casks that have imposed a pinkish-orange hue to the whisky.

Taste:

More expressive on the palate for sure. Lovely cask spices, slight orange zest, alcohol-soaked blackberries, and generally quite earthy in style. The oak is very active and drying, especially on the finish, which this whisky sadly cannot withstand.

Now,  as I mentioned I normally like port cask matured whiskies but this one seems a bit rushed. Maybe a year or 2 more in the port casks to smooth out the rough edges? and would think Glen Moray could do better with a Port Cask whisky than this?

72/100!

Official sample provided by the Danish Importer

GLEN MORAY 'ELGIN CLASSIC' - DISTILLERY BOTTLING

It's time to review a small handful of more commonly available whiskies - 4 to be exact - all from Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin, Speyside.

I'll start off with what Glen Moray themselves also call 'Elgin Classic' which pretty much sums up what this is - Straight forward easy drinkable whisky from this giant hidden in a residential neighborhood in Elgin.

The last time I visited was in September 2019 and would like to go back - and quite possibly pick up one of the very nice hand-bottlings offered there.
Since circumstances currently prevent travel, I'll have to settle for a virtual trip down Bruceland Road

Glen Moray Distillery at the end of Bruceland Rd. in Elgin © Glen Moray

 

Glen Moray 'Elgin Classic' 40%, Distillery Bottling

Nose:
Very expressive, much more than expected - promising...
I expect a lot of 1st fill ex-bourbon casks at work here.
Lots of grassy notes, a floral hint, and then green apples and malty notes and sugary lemony sponge case fresh from the oven.
After a while, some wood chip notes and a hint of wet newspaper peeps through

A nose that would appeal to many first-time whisky drinkers, I expect

Taste:
Quite warming for 40% as if the casks have a bit too much to say here? Slightly off-balance, maybe... The palate is very much an echo of the nose with warm apple, some citrus, and grassy notes, and a quite surprisingly long finish

I do not recommend you add water to this one - doing so kills it off and brings out an unwanted note of varnish/paint thinner on the palate.

Do I like it? yes, I do... Will I drink if offered, yes, I will...
I would have loved to try this at 43% or even 46% where I think this would be much better as the delivery still leaves a few things to be desired.

All in all a good starter whisky for new malt drinkers as well as fairly inexpensive compared to other entry-level whiskies.

77/100!

Official sample provided by the Danish Importer

GLEN MORAY 2001 35.121 'YOU MAKE ME FEEL (MIGHTY REAL)' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

You know your Disco? I barely remember it myself, but apparently a few on The Scotch Malt Whisky Society's tasting panel do remember (or at least know) the Sylvester hit 'you make me fee mighty real' from 1979.

The whisky in this review, however, will not take us that far back - just back to 2001 when the spirit ran off the still at Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin.

It's also boom times at Glen Moray and by the end of 2015 they'll be able to put out 6,5 million liters of spirit annually from 6 pairs of stills :-O quite a bit!

The Visitor centre at Glen Moray Distillery (larger than it looks) October 17th 2014 © The Malt Desk

Glen Moray 2001 (11.12.2001) 12yo 'You make me fee (mighty real)' 57,9%, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 235 bottles, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is full straw

Similar bottle is shown

Nose:
Heavy on the vanilla from the 1st fill bourbon barrel. Haribo wine gums, mint and loads of barley/malt, overripe cherries, hints of a toasted wood and fresh ginger too - but that's all very faint. The main theme here is the massive sweetness.

Taste:
Very spice on arrival, pepper, a little fresh ginger notes, cumin and nutmeg before another rush of sweetness sets in. Lots of malt, sucrose and artificial sweetener and more vanilla and also some honey to easy off the spicy attack. On the finish this whisky develops some raspberry, caramel and more of that oaky/peppery nip.

Quite a dram! Lots of things happening but it seems like there's just a bit too much oak influence... maybe a year or 2 less in the cask for this one would have done wonders? still not a bad dram though.

82/100!

GLEN MORAY 1974 35.102 'SOPHISTICATED AND SELF-ASSURED' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

Here's another whisky with the SMWS-descriptor 'Sophisticated' attached to it.

Some of the names the SMWS tasting panel comes up with often makes me smile as the names can be (as you probably know if you follow the SMWS) be quite... imaginative :-)

But are they good descriptors?? Well, first of all, far from all the names of the bottlings have notes that directly describes the tastes and smells of the whisky, though one might argue that they do so... though it does take a bit more imagination for some people to figure out how i.e. 'Sophisticated and self-assured' applies to whisky.

Some get it, some don't - I will not judge, especially if the whisky as good as this... ;-)

Glen Moray Distillery, Elgin - picture from Wikipedia

Glen Moray 1974 35.102 39yo (19.02.1974) 'Sophisticated and self-assured' 52,1%, 180 bottles, refill ex-bourbon hogshead, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is full gold

Nose:
Very delicate nose on this one - it needs time to wake up. Old wet oak planks, freshly ground pepper, vanilla, carrot, fresh ginger, overripe banana, coconut and multi fruit juice.

Taste:
A very dark tasting whisky, this one... Chocolate, coffee, burnt sugar as in danish 'smor-kage' (pastry). Some cardamom and ginger shows itself along with a dash of syrup. This also has some noticeable (but not bitter) oak notes and a shorter than expected finish that just takes the top off of things, I think... as in not making it to the 90p-mark.

Nevertheless, its hugely enjoyable - goes down like a treat... and that's really what its all about, isn't it? :-)

89/100!

GLEN MORAY 2001 35.86 'SUMPTUOUS BREAKFAST DRAM' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

Our wee group that travelled to the Spirit of Speyside Festival had talked about us visiting Glen Moray for the Manager's Tour on Saturday, but we couldn't quite squeeze it it, so we decided to give it a pass this time - though the tour is supposed to be very good :-/ Anyway, we had to fit in an event closer to our previous one at Glenfarclas... But its a tour on my 'to-do'-list for a future festival...

Meanwhile, I'll review another Glen Moray I came across from the SMWS

Glen Moray 2001 (17.05.2001) 11yo 'Sumptuous Breakfast dram' 59,3%, 1st fill sherry butt, 629 bottles, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is amber

Nose:
Spirity, hot, baked note, cinnamon buns, nutty and resinous, with a few drops of water some coffee and chocolate notes appear along with some mint

Taste:
Bitter nuttiness on arrival, then spices and a streak of sulphur/rubbery note. Still hot and spirity on the palate, sadly... Curry and oranges and burnt baking too.

Nice notes, really but it does not add quite make up for the hot spirit and sulphur/rubber notes
Still, could have been worse...

80/100!

GLEN MORAY 1991 35.80 'STEAMED APPLE SPONGE PUDDING' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

Now, Glen Moray is a distillery you - as with plenty others in Speyside - can't really miss, especially if you visit the city of Elgin which most people do when there. Located within the city's boundaries you can walk there - which is probably a good idea anyway, as you'll probably be having a few drams. Rumours say they usually do a cracking 'bottle-your-own' at the distillery - that alone justifies a visit, don't you think? :-)

It's time for the final Glen Moray review..

Glen Moray 1991 35.80 (25.10.1991/xx.12.2012) 21yo 'Steamed Apple Sponge Pudding' 59,7%, 2nd fill ex-bourbon hogshead, 190 bottles, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is full straw

Nose:
Vanilla oak, apple and sweet mango and melon, hint of wet newspaper and burst of alcohol. Also getting fruit tea, aniseed and a little solventy note.

Taste:
Very malty, peppery arrival, candied fruits, ginger and apple cake with breadcrumbs and whipped cream (Danish speciality) add to that some candied almonds.

I recommend the addition of a little water to this one to take away the top alc notes/burn.

87/100!

GLEN MORAY 1994 35.81 'AFTERNOON TEA IN INDIA' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

As promised on Tuesday I'm back with another Glen Moray review today.

In the Aultmore review recently, I had a rant about the Spirit of Speyside Festival organisations ability to handle the load on their ticket server... a ticket server that actually also holds ticket for events at the Glen Moray Distillery during the festival in early May.

The Distillery offers a Manager's Tour during the festival (more here) - an event with tasting of both regular expressions, but also cask samples. Glen Moray also hosts a BBQ which is supposed to be good fun - though I've never been myself (more here).

Now back to today's Glen Moray... The SMWS title of this one really had my mind going, so I was quite looking forward to this one as I'm as much a sucker for a good curry as the next guy, but I have no idea what this type of hogshead it has matured in is. :-)

Glen Moray 1994 35.81 (11.11.1994) 17yo 'Afternoon tea in India' 58,9%, Designer hogshead, 256 bottles, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is amber

Nose:
Cinnamon cake, red curry, nutmeg, quite some flowery hints, spices all sorts, cumin and milk chocolate - what a mix!

Taste:
Light and slightly nutty drying, dark rum and dried fruits, oranges, high end bourbon notes, honey and milk on a wholegrain breakfast, Madeira and plums chocolates.

Water kills the complexity in this one, so be careful how much you add...

This is a great example of what the SMWS also does, as in bottling casks that a nothing like the normal style from the distillery. GREAT fun and malt!

89/100!

GLEN MORAY 1991 35.73 'PENCIL CHEWING GINGERBREAD MEN' - THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY

I remember Glen Moray from my early whisky drinking days. You could get a NAS Chardonnay cask, an 8yo, 12yo and a 16yo in the local supermarket... and back then I remember thinking that it was a good dram.

But then something happened -a most natural thing really- I progressed along with my, back then, very few malt drinking friends and Glen Moray was soon left on the shelf at night and replaced by Highland Park 12, Balvenie Doublewood 12, Dalwhinnie 15 and Laphroaig 10.

A couple of years ago, partly due to releases from Duncan Taylor, I had a few Glen Morays again and remembered the mellow sweetness this spirit had and got almost nostalgic... and this is why I'll be reviewing 3 Glen Morays from the SMWS over the next days.

Glen Moray 35.73 (25.10.1991) 20yo 'Pencil chewing gingerbread men' 58,5%, 2nd fill dump hogshead, 276 bottles, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Colour is full straw

Nose:
Pears, Vanilla, honey and ginger (for sure) wood shavings and varnish

Taste:
Crisp oak spices, bakery notes, lovely balanced ginger, white fruits, custard, huge on malt sweetness with a medium heavy feel to it.

Lovely stuff, this one!

88/100!