A quintet of Glen Moray single casks.

I’ve got a big soft spot for the Glen Moray distillery, like a lot of people I feel this is one of the most underrated distilleries in Scotland. Now I’ve done a few posts on them, from reviews of expressions to a bit about the distillery and a tweet tasting. So I felt extremely lucky to be involved in another tweet tasting for the distillery. Hosted by Steve from The Whisky Wire with Graham the distillery manager, we were tasting a selection of cask samples that had been chosen by Graham.

The first cask sample of the night was..

Cask #99956 2008 Cider Finish 51.8% abv, finished in a Thistley Cross cider cask for over 2yrs..

Nose: Sweet soft honey, apple, hint of barley & soft white wine, butterscotch sweets,with time some plain chocolate notes and a hint of pears appear,

Palate: Sweet & spicey, stem ginger, touch of oak, apple, pear, a hint of the butterscotch from the nose carries over..

Finish: Medium with a sweet dryness to it..

The next sample was from the current bottle you own cask at the distillery..

Cask #20050 2007 Port Wood Finish 57.1% abv..

Nose: Rich red fruit, plums, black cherries, hint if nectarines, some red liquorice dusted in icing sugar, hints of fresh hay, lovely rich sweet and light nose..

Palate: Prunes, plums, cranberries, spicey, ginger, caramel, cinnamon, some dry oak notes, got a lovely depth to it..

Finish: Medium with a warm spice to it..

We then moved on to our third sample of the night this was..

Cask #6002334 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon 56.8% abv..

Nose: Sweet red grapes, raspberry jam, some hints of chocolate, light oak notes, zesty, soft fudge note, the alcohol is a bit more prominent..

Palate: Spicey with lots of ginger, a nice explosion of raspberry & blackberry, lemon & lime zest, oak, caramel in the background..

Finish: Not to long with lots of oak notes..

We then moved on to the first of two future distillery exclusive bottlings, I’m not sure if these will be bottle your own of just available at the distillery shop.

Cask #99913 1998 PX Finish 47.2% abv..

Nose: Rich dried fruit, sweet cinnamon, creamy fudge, some hazelnuts hints, orange zest, some dark chocolate hints..

Palate: Sweet dried fruits, candid orange peel, oak tannins, some toasted almonds, creamy toffee, dark chocolate, some hints of stem ginger..

Finish: Long with a soft ginger note..

The last sample of the night was the other future distillery release..

Cask #99917 2010 Peated PX Cask Finish 55.8% abv..

Nose: Briney, tar, sweet peat, BBQ maple syrup, some sweet cinnamon, a hint of bacon background..

Palate: Sweet peat smoke, ginger, campfire embers, heather honey, hint of lime & oak, dark chocolate, cranberries, huge depth of character..

Finish: Medium to long with a gentle smokey after taste..

I felt very privileged and lucky to be involved in this latest tweet tasting for Glen Moray, I not quite sure what to say about these samples. I’ve tried most of the distillery range past and present always having a couple of bottles in my collection, yet saying these were good doesn’t do them justice. Even saying these are excellent feels like I’m selling them short, the quality and depth of character in each dram is superb. I’ve tried a few cider cask finished malts and found them to be ok but nothing stunning, this one from Glen Moray while probably the weakest of the night for me was beautiful to drink. This shows the quality and value for money they are producing in my opinion, something I think more people will recognise when they try any expressions from the distillery.

On the night my favourite was the Peated PX and as I tasted them again, while I wrote this post it came out on top again. This time only just in front of the Port cask and the PX. These three were definitely excellent and the best of the night but for me, the Peated PX just had the edge with the PX influence highlighting the Glen Moray soul that can be lost in the Peated expressions.

I look forward to when these casks will be bottled and available to buy, I most certainly would like to add them to my shelves and would encourage everybody else to do the same (just make sure you leave a couple of each for me).

I would again like to say a huge thank you to Steve from The Whisky Wire, Glen Moray and Graham Coull for the samples and opportunity to be involved.

Sláinte..