December 22, 2015

Eight Glen Moray pre-Christmas

I know everybody’s expecting only Springbank, Macallan, or anything from Islay before Christmas, but I had thought we’d rather celebrate a slightly obscure distillery today, which its successive owners never quite, well, duly celebrated in my opinions. It’s Glen Moray. Granted, not all Glen Morays have been great, but it’s a distillery which one of Ardbeg’s previous managers, the excellent Stuart Thompson, had deemed his favourite. Right, it’s true that he had also been the manager there. So today we’ll try to have quite a bunch of Glen Morays, and to go as deep into time as possible. But first, a few youngsters as the aperitifs…

Glen Moray 12 yo 2002/2014 (46%, Douglas Laing, Provenance, cask #10578)

Possibly a perfect apéritif to better understand the spirit’s character, without much wood/wine influence, while the OBs are often ‘made-up’ a bit. Colour: wine wine. Nose: right, perhaps is this exaggeratingly naked! Beer and pear eau-de-vie, plus porridge and barley sugar. That’s all, folks. As, well, naked as malt whisky can get. Mouth: same feeling. Super-malty, very pearish, and extremely beerish. Some kind of half-and-half that some Belgian friends would have done, pouring a few cls of Williams pear into one of the lightest trappists. All what’s missing is a few shrimp croquettes. Finish: medium, on the very same notes. A Gueuze made with pears. Comments: good, I like spirit-driven whiskies a lot, but this one may be a little too extreme in that respect. SGP:331 - 74 points.

Dear DL, please shoot again…

Glen Moray 15 yo 1999/2014 (48.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask #10420, 332 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: ah, maturity! Not that it’s immensely sexier or fruitier, but at least there are minerals, clay, some cut grass, then sweet bread (pumpernickel) and a few tinned fruits. Pears again, peaches… Touches of bubblegum, or even British fruit-flavoured yoghurt (I’ve noticed that our dear friends tend to add much ‘stuff’ to their flavoured yoghurts!) Mouth: fine fine fine. It’s a fruity and cerealy whisky, with good oak and certainly quite some vanilla and sawdust. But once again, the mineral side as well as the grassiness save it. A little liquorice wood, perhaps. Finish: fairly long and very malty. I wouldn’t say anything really stands out, and I guess this would be perfect as a filler in some good blend, but this finish is clean. Salt and lemon in the aftertaste. Comments: honest and loyal, if not totally characterful. SGP:441 - 77 points.

Glen Moray 25 yo 1987 'Port Cask Finish' (43%, OB, Batch Number 2, 3,295 bottles, 2004)

Glen Moray 25 yo 1987 'Port Cask Finish' (43%, OB, Batch Number 2, 3,295 bottles, +/-2013)

A long-aged official this time, but sadly, they had to finish it in Port. It’s never great news, in my opinion, when you have to treat a venerable 25yo malt like this. Colour: apricot. Nose: no it’s fine, I don’t seem to find any extreme wineyness. Phew. Rather leaves and buds, such as blackcurrants, then a little earth, then stewed fruits. Red peaches and drops of mulled wine. This is the season after all. Also a little tobacco, as well as overripe apples. Fine, rather elegant, and relatively light. Mouth: a little citric at first sipping, then smoother and rounder, with some marmalade and perhaps a piece of Mars bar. Cherry stem tea, preserved cherries, a touch of cinnamon, and a few dried fruits topped with some tea ice cream. Pretty good, I have to say. Good body, the low strength isn’t a problem. Finish: medium, with blood oranges and a touch of spicy Christmas cake. But of course. Comments: tastes a bit like further-fortified white Port. Yes, I imagine. A good sipper. SGP:451 - 81 points.

Maybe try higher strengths?...

Glen Moray 11 yo 2003/2015 (61.4%, Single Cask Nation, First Fill Jack Daniel's Cask, cask #2740, 214 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: young naked whisky in naked American oak. Plenty of vanilla, plus a few orchard fruits and coconut. There may be something else, but at this strength, I won’t take no chances. With water: at a carpenter’s. Warm sawdust, green fruits, apples, more apples, even more apples, and a touch of grated coconut. It’s minimal, but its balanced and, in a way, faultless. Mouth (neat): pure liquid bubblegum and jell-O, it seems. So, with water: this is where it wins it. A joyful, ueber-fruity malt, full of gooseberries and apples, with a thick layer of barley syrup. Some young friends have made me try vodka containing dissolved marshmallows the other day. I’ve tasted worse, and this Glen Moray reminds me a bit of that experience. Excuse me? Yes, we’re still friends. Finish: quite long, creamy, fruity, fudge-y. More gooseberries, more marshmallows. Comments: smart. Or how to make 61.4% vol. malt whisky easy and sexy. I did not write ‘complex’. SGP:641 - 83 points.

Good progress, good progress…

Glen Moray 27 yo 1986/2013 (56.8%, Adelphi, cask #1931, 243 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: a bit the OB without the Port. It’s very malty and bready at first nosing, and then it’s almost a pastry shop. Brioche, butterscotch, apple pie, all that… Plus a wee mustiness, hints of old wine cellar… With water: same territories as the Single Cask Nation. Malt, oak, tinned fruits. Mouth (neat): excellent. Full, almost thick, syrupy start, with marmalade and butter cream, plus a lot of marzipan. Some walnuts too, like in a walnut cake. Goes on earthier, grittier, wilder… A rather raw barleyness, in fact. With water: fruit-forward, but those are ‘moderate’ fruits. Apples, pears… Some barley syrup as well, perhaps agave syrup… It’s very good, just not, well, characterful. Is there a pattern? Finish: medium, syrupy, fruity… Comments: in fact, this is some kind of liquid cake. SGP:641 - 84 points.

Things keep improving, which was the whole point. But maybe is it time to call the ‘Christmas’ Glen Morays? Because mind you, that was just a warm-up, our session actually starts NOW!...

Glen Moray 1974/2002 ‘Manager’s Choice’ (53.4%, OB, hand bottled, 676 bottles)

The distillery manager was Ed Dodson at that time. Colour: deep gold. Nose: oh my! Another world. Oils and saps plus dried fruits and many herbs and teas. Tangerine marmalade, lime tree blossom, mirabelles, quinces, honeysuckle, acacia honey, candle wax, humidor… This is magnificent! With water: totally superlative. Pollen, old menthol syrup, barley water, furniture polish, Spanish ham, old wooden cabinets, a beehive… I totally adore this nose. Mouth (neat): extraordinary. Superb notes of cigars, patchouli, litchi liqueur, various honeys, long-forgotten liqueurs from small countries (certainly some arracks), earthy spices, chartreuse… With water: ooh, more herbal teas, hawthorn, honeysuckle, orange blossom, wormwood, anise… Wow oh wow oh wow! Astounding complexity. Finish: medium, but oh-so refined and elegant. Cakes, teas, liqueurs… In short, life! Comments: you could write a whole novel about this kind of whisky. Not a surprise, but, well, yeah, a surprise. What a cask – a refill sherry butt, I suppose. Plain and pure magic. SGP:661 - 94 points.

Further down please… Former owners, the floor is still yours…

Glen Moray-Glenlivet 1966 (43%, OB, +/-1990)

Ah, 1966… A great year for jazz, for rock and roll, and for whisky. Colour: full gold. Nose: it can happen, sometimes, that a particular malt whisky’s so fragrant and ‘perfumy’ (in a good way) that you’d think a perfumer assembled it. It’s the case here, with stunning notes of rose petals, musk (never found this much musk in whisky, honest), and some hand cream-by-some-posh-Parisian-house. Orange blossom water. In the background, rather furniture polish, old Camels, and something like… say old new electronics? Remember when we were unpacking a new stereo, or a new Macintosh circa 1990? Mouth: I cannot not think of classic Macallan. Some of the early 15s, distilled in the early 1950s, for example. Yep that’s pretty good news. Honey and dried fruits, but with a solid backbone, with pepper and soot. What we could call ‘almost-smoke’. Not quite smoke, but it’s smoky. I’m sure you see what I mean. Stunning palate, even if the 1974 still beats it. Finish: long – 43% vol., really? – and magnificently waxy and spicy. Comments: just another glorious one. I hope this kind of complexity isn’t lost forever; not just talking about Glen Moray here. SGP:551 - 92 points.

We could stop now, but you see, this is the Christmas week… So, perhaps one 1959 and we’re done?

Glen Moray 40 yo 1959/1999 (50.9%, OB, 400 bottles)

Ah, 1959. Samaroli had a fabulous one, bottled in 1984 at 46%. No less than WF 93. Colour: amber. Nose: it’s perhaps not as immediately immediate (S., please) as the 1966, but this elegance should be mesmerizing, provided you’re ready to give this baby a good chunk of your precious time. Orange cake, a Turkish delight shop in Istanbul, various pieces of precious woods, warm cellulose, many leaves, a little chamomile, a little blond tobacco, a drop of mint essence… In truth, it’s slightly shy after the 1974 and the 1966, and would never quite open itself, but water should help. With water: still a little shy, perhaps, and it’s rather wood essences that come out. Other than that, more of the same. Mouth (neat): there might be a little too much oak, but all the rest is of the highest order. Rosewater, litchis, old gewürztraminer, teas, cardamom cake, acorn squash, pumpkin pips, these sorts of things. Not quite sure it’s too oaky, as we’re wandering around the limits of oakiness. With water: no. Yes! Not quite. Yes. Not sure… That often happens with older whiskies, they are flirting with your senses and sometimes they just lose you. Naughty babies! Finish: medium, perhaps a little drying. That’s right, a little flat and oaky. Comments: the problem is that we had just tried some stunners, so this old baby’s having trouble striking a chord at this point. I’m just having a drop of the very raisiny Samaroli 1959 as we speak, and well, it just kills this little OB. Oh let’s put an end to this madness, if you don’t mind. SGP:551 - 88 points.

(With many thanks to Angus, Gunther, and Johan)

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