Category Archives: Glen Moray

Glen Moray 15yo 1998/2013 (46%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogsheads, 684 bottles)

This is the third Glen Moray on these pages. Although I use a 100 points scare for scoring drinks, and in my opinion Whisky is one of the best drinks around. Whisky usually scores in the upper ranges of that scale. So any good Whisky scores at least 80 points. Both Glen Moray’s I reviewed before, one 13yo Dun Bheagan, and one official 8yo, didn’t make it across the 80 points-line and are therefore considered bu connoisseurs to be “mediocre” at best. However, if you read my reviews carefully, they still have enough going for them, and are still pretty good drinks, or pretty good Whiskies for that matter. It’s just that a lot of Whiskies score higher than these Glen Moray’s. But here is another Glen Moray, one by Cadenhead, so lets see if this will score in the 80’s or even higher?

Glen Moray 15yo 1998/2013 (46%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogsheads, 684 bottles)Color: White wine.

Nose: Quite closed, or isn’t there much happening. Alcohol, hints of sweet yellow fruits. Even though it isn’t a white wine finish were Glen Moray are almost famous for, it does remind me of a white wine finished Glen Moray. Hints of margarine and vanilla. Soft touch of oak. Very restrained, it just smells like fresh air.

Taste: Yes typical thin Glen Moray again. A crumb of old dark chocolate. A little bit of oak, and an acidity resembling a wine finish. Usually Glen Moray tends to get overly sweet after a wine finish, and I can’t say that’s the case here. Lots of maltiness and a little bit of paper and bitter oak in the finish. Good, it gives it character. Anything better than that strange acidity.

Extremely light color, again casks (probably two) that weren’t very active any more. I am not completely sure this isn’t a white wine finish. A very clean expression, and that’s me being positive, because not a lot seems to be happening here… (Mind you, this is still a damn good drink!)

Points: 76

Glen Moray 8yo (40%, OB, Circa 2013)

After almost two years’ time another Glen Moray graces these pages. Glen Moray used to be the poor Whisky that was used as a guinea pig for Whisky experiments by Dr. Lumsden. Sounds like a horror story doesn’t it? Bill probably is a nice guy and poor old Glen Moray was sold off in 2008 to stand on it’s own. The Glen Moray we’ll be focussing on this time is a Glen Moray 8yo. This Whsiky is a very cheap Single Malt Whisky. Cheap sounds a bit harsh, so lets say this Glen Moray costs next to nothing or is inexpensive. Can it still be good?

Glen Moray 8 yoColor: White wine

Nose: Malty! Yes lots of malted barley on its nose, and like the Macallan 10yo I reviewed earlier, this is pretty sweet. It even has some spices. Dried grass and crushed beetles. Cardboard and very young smelling. It’s barley spirit with a little bit of vanilla and some sugar.

Taste: Barley again and even a little bit peppery. Also the sweetness comes through. Obviously un-complex, but very honest tasting. This Whisky probably hasn’t seen the inside of a Sherry cask, but compared to the aforementioned Macallan, that’s no problem. Even the finish seems longer than the Macallan had, but it’s still short.

Nothing to brag about. This is an extremely simple Single Malt Whisky, but it does come with an extremely simple price-tag. Barley, sweet and typical refill Bourbon cask matured young Whisky, nothing more. What you expect is what you get, the only thing not expected was the hint of pepper in the taste.

Points: 77

Glen Moray 13yo 1996/2009 (43%, Ian MacLeod, Dun Bheagan, Sauternes Barrel Finish, Cask #91981/91984, 1419 bottles)

Second Dun Bhaegan on these pages, after the Brora 1981. But the first Glen Moray. For a while Glen Moray was owned by the people behind Glenmorangie, you know the distillery with the long-necked stills and the 16 men of Tain? In that period Glenmorangie saw the shortage is good casks and started to experiment a lot with wine-finishes. The ones they did not dare to use, they bestowed onto Glen Moray. So there are quite a lot of official Wine finishes by Glen Moray themselves. Now Ian MacLeod decided to add their wine finish of their own, or maybe bought it straight from the distillery.

Color: Light Gold.

Nose: Malty and sweet. Vanilla and quite spirity. A slightly winy smell comes in, along with some glue, cardboard and sawdust. Toffee adds to the vanilla. Gypsum. I cannot say this is very balanced. The longer you keep this the more is smells of a combination of solvents. Wait, now some plants come into the mix, just hard to say which ones. Given even some more time, the nose keeps developing. I like that in a malt, just the things you smell aren’t so special in this one. Clean wood and lavas now, and an overpowering kind of toffee.

Taste: Wood, paper, cardboard, but mostly wood. Spicy wood with some detached sweetness. (so not very balanced again). Quite hard and a bit bitter. Urine? After this straight into a finish of almost stale beer, cream and wood again. Sour.

Very simple, not a lot going on, and what is going on is not great for a whisky. It would have a lot of character if it were a Wodka. Still this very nice Wodka scores into the seventies. In a few words: Bitter-sweet wood toffee.

Points: 76