
May 28, 2020

Three little Glen Moray 2007

I know, but the indies are carrying the flame higher these days. Yet we’ll try to do this little session quick and fastly, believe me… Especially given that strictly all indies have been having some 2007 Glen Moray lately.

Glen Moray 11 yo 2007/2019 (51.1%, Which, Nymphs of Whisky, hogshead, cask #5640, 261 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: a little harsh but pleasantly so, with rocks and concrete, bitter grasses, croissants (croissants should never be sweet!) moss and fern, peach skin, carbon paper (remember?)… No easy baby this far, but this is a good sign… With water: all perfect, simple yet perfect. Bread, white and yellow fruits (peaches), damp chalk, grass and dewdrops on a good spring morning. Mouth (neat): really very good, hipflasky (we’ve had it with your two-pence barbarisms, man), grassy and yet sweet, rather on granny smith, barley eau-de-vie, touches of chalk… With water: the best part. Fresh almonds, apples, plums… And a little cinnamon and maize flour. Finish: rather long, barley-y, very well balanced. Preserved plums in the aftertaste. Comments: Glen Moray’s becoming one of the better Speysiders these days, and probably less of a simple budget malt. Thanks to… the indies!
SGP:461 - 86 points.

Glen Moray 10 yo 2007/2017 ‘Ichigo Ichie’ (56%, Mizunara Hong Kong, first fill bourbon)

Glen Moray 10 yo 2007/2017 ‘Ichigo Ichie’ (56%, Mizunara Hong Kong, first fill bourbon)
A very lovely label here. Please note that Mizunara is the name of the bottler, not that of the oak that’s been used. Colour: white wine. Nose: unsurprisingly, this is extremely similar, perhaps a tad chalkier and doughier, would I say. Even more bread and proper croissants. With water: awesome, citric, bready, chalky, and very much on barley. Nosing a handful of grist while quaffing pot ale. Mouth (neat): excellent, fatter than the Which this time, with wee sappy tones, a faint feeling of grass smoke, olive and rapeseed oils, lemons, chalk, wormwood and aniseed… Excellent! With water: immaculate, flawless, with just a wee smoky side that does not quite confirm that ‘first fill bourbon’ thing. I doubt it’s ‘totally pure’ Glen Moray – so perhaps second fill ex-peater barrel instead, but there, it’s very excellent so who cares? Finish: very good, even impressive with this coastal, spicy, lemony and smoky profile. Comments: yeah, who cares. Unless, wait, they did some peat at Glen Moray back in 2007. Did they? Can’t remember, but it’s true that many Speysiders were doing small peated batches at that time. As usual, all have always the very same ‘exclusive brainwaves’ at the very same time. After all they all have innovation at the very heart of their DNA, as we all know ;-).
SGP:454 - 88 points.

Imagine twenty years ago, the very idea of tasting a 10 yo Glen Moray and, what’s more, writing a note about it would have simply scared us away. Like, excuse me but there’s a lost episode of Inspektor Derrick on TV…

Glen Moray 2007/2017 (61.7%, L’Esprit, bourbon, cask #5719, 194 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: the punchiest and the grassiest of them all. Crushed grass and cactus, chalk and concrete, touch of lemon, bread… Well, this could be first-class too. With water: rather! A tad yeasty, some mandarin, those croissants (ça suffit !) and always these chalky touches. Mouth (neat): raw, extremely gristy, barley-y, with a little lemon liqueur and varnish – that’s the high strength. With water: all cleared, all good. Spicy beer, bread, marmalade, liquorice, and slightly dirty chalkiness, which could be seen as an asset. Bring your hipflask… Finish: long, green, spicy, earthier than the others. Green chartreuse and gentian, I couldn’t quite be against that. Comments: very ‘Esprit’ indeed. Well done.
SGP:451 - 86 points.

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