Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 40%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry Oloroso
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: Yes
Owner: La Martiniquaise
Average price: € 53.00
Official website: www.glenmoray.com
Vote: 78/100
Glen Moray has been added to our already rich portfolio of speysiders, a distillery located on the banks of the River Lossie in Elgin that produces around 4.5 million litres of whisky a year.
Founded as a brewery (Elgin West Brewery) by Robert Thorne and sons in 1830, it began producing whisky in 1897, using different types of casks for ageing, a common practice nowadays but quite unusual at the time.
After a serious fire and subsequent reconstruction, production gradually declined until it closed in 1910, until the brand and structure were bought by the MacDonald and Muir families (future Glenmorangie) about a decade later, resuming production thanks to the launch of a rarity in 1924. a vintage bottling from 1893.
In the 1950s and 1970s, production was expanded until it was sold in 2008 by Moet Hennessy (owners of Glenmorangie) to the current owners, who use the malt produced by Glen Moray mainly for their blended Label 5.
It’s certainly not a cool distillery or one with a big audience, but it does have a large portfolio of whiskies, divided a few years ago into collections: Elgin Classic Collection (all NAS with different finishes), Elgin Heritage Collection (with 12, 15 and 18 year olds and Fired Oak), Elgin Reserve Range (with Edinburgh Rugby Private Edition) and Elgin Prestige (with Glen Moray Mastery, also containing malts from the 1970s).
Tasting notes
The nose is floral, delicate, with a growing fruity component of peach and ripe apples, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and a touch of citrus. Short pastry. Very pleasant, like fresh sweet pastry.
On the palate, the sweet richness of the nose is lost, probably due to the dilution that has extinguished the aromas. Fruit, vanilla, cereals and a pinch of cinnamon remain, but they are very light, fleeting, soon giving way to the dryness of the wood which makes the drink more bristly. Slight metallic aftertaste.
Medium-long, dry finish, predominantly hazelnut yoghurt with vanilla, cereal, wood.
The nose is promising, the finish is not bad (if you like hazelnuts), what’s in between… In short… it’s drinkable, but it’s too ethereal, too fleeting, the low alcohol content does not fix the aromas and makes them run away quickly. I don’t say cask strength, but six/seven degrees more could overturn the result.