May 16, 2014

Three very funny Glen Moray

Glen Moray 11 yo 1989/2001 (57.6%, Signatory Vintage, sherry butt, cask #4673, 638 bottles) Colour: full gold. Nose: starts rather rubbery and even sulphury, with little fruitiness except bitter oranges. Struck matches, coal, broccoli… Oh well. The good news is that all that tends to fade away and even if those smells never completely disappear, the musty oranges do grow bigger, together with some butterscotch, walnuts and ‘nice’ leather (old motorcycle jacket). As they say, it’s a style. With water: don’t I like this now? Grapefruits, camphor and raisins stuffed into a bicycle’s inner tube. This is fun! Mouth (neat): bizarre… Some orange squash, bitter herbs, plenty of old bitter walnuts, leather, tobacco… It’s not easy! There’s a lot of ginger too. With water: chewing a cigar. Finish: long, herbal, kind of rubbery and mentholated. Comments: a weird-and-fun young Glen Moray from a slightly reckless sherry cask. SGP:371 - 74 points.

Glen Moray-Glenlivet 21 yo 1992/2014 (55.4%, Cadenhead, Wine Cask, 216 bottles) This baby came from a claret cask, so red Bordeaux. Always a bit scary… To me, at least. Colour: straw. No pinkness! Nose: a little in the middle of nowhere at first nosing. No merlot, no cabernet, rather a few sweet bonbons and marshmallows thrown into barley syrup with a little crushed chalk and maybe aspirin tablets. A little mint and star anise as well. Pretty unusual, in fact. With water: cake. Orange cake, sponge cake, any cake. Plus aspirin tablets and chalk. Mouth (neat): it’s fine, rather citrusy, with some porridge and mashed potatoes and turnips, then touches of oranges and, maybe, capsicum plus blackcurrant buds and leaves. Is that the Bordeaux speaking out? With water: remains leafy. Chlorophyll, tea, oak, more leaves. Finish: long, with more pepper and nutmeg. Comments: a little acrid. This baby’s got an appealing funny side, but it’s not really my preferred style. Honest ex-Bordeaux whisky. SGP:461 - 76 points.

Glen Moray 39 yo 1971/2011 (46%, Mo Or Collection, cask #5, 429 bottles) This collection was truly a great idea, I miss it! Imagine they had issued whiskies from absolutely all Scottish distilleries, a real tour de force when many small bottlers keeps issuing more or less the same distilleries. Colour: full gold. Nose: the word fruitbomb must have been invented for this baby. We’re having an amazing range of tropical fruits, from maracuja to mangos and from mandarins to papayas. Add to that a few honeys and a spoonful of olive oil, and you’re having… A Bowmore 1966. I’m not joking. Mouth: astounding creamy tropicalfruitiness. Pineapples, mangos, tangerines, guavas, plus a little custard, light acacia honey, then a few herbal teas such as honeysuckle and hawthorn. Perfect body, with an oakiness that’s there but never really noticeable as such. Brilliant at almost 40 years of age. Finish: maybe not very long, and maybe a little green and oaky this time, but nothing abnormal. Cardamom. Comments: only the finish was a little below par. Pretty great stuff! SGP:651 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Glen Moray I've tasted so far