I've watched alot of your reviews over the years and this was a beautiful thing. You guys were honest and insightful and really brought home something for me. This just showed up locally and I actually bringed myself to buy the 21 port finished. I kinda regret it, thinking the 18 would have been enough to spend on official Glen Morays. It's safe to say that it looks good on paper but mediocre in the glass. I wish it was still $75 but I'm looking at $97 in 2022. The 21 is open, and it's a very nice dram albeit a bit sweet. Thanks for steering me straight passed this temptation. And yes, ABV is the key. Keep up the good work.
Definitely added colour if that’s just American Oak. Could be wrong though. You guys are dope. Andrew’s shirt is on point. If you guys were closer I’d bid to be the fifth dummy. No doubt I’m a dummy though. Shawn you’re the man. Feel like I don’t give you enough love. Cheers boys.
Hey Guys: Picked up a bottle of Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask Finished tonight. Here are my impressions SLÁINTE Mike GLEN MORAY Elgin Classic Speyside Single Malt Scottish Whisky Chardonnay Cask FINISHED NAS 40% ABV The spirit spends 8 months in Chardonnay barrels Wikipedia Left the bottle sit open for 30 Minutes to Breathe COLOR: Amber to very light brown Nice ring with many legs running swiftly but one or two very slowly NOSE: Fruity with floral underneath. The fruit note dominates. PALETE: Light creamy mouthfeel with a fruit note forward. Pepper rises as I swirl it but so does a faint floral note. There is a drying the longer it is in my mouth and a hint of chocolate. FINISH: Fizzy with faint chocolate. The faint chocolate lingers on my tongue with a faint creaminess. With 1 drop of spring water NOSE: A faint Floral note PALETE: A faint chocolate note with fizz. There is also a drying sense. A light fruit note rises as I swirl it. FINISH: Candy sweet going down with a fizz and drying sense. The chocolate note is again on my tongue minus the creaminess. This has been an enjoyable glass and more complex than I expected. The mix of fruit, chocolate and floral notes at different levels at different times kept this very interesting. I really enjoyed it’s big sister the Chardonnay Cask 10 yr. old Matured, but this expression stands on its own with differences; it is less floral, but the chocolate note and the fizz give it its’ own character; like a seltzer injected malted milk. At the reasonable price point; definitely a daily sipper.
Really honest review but in my opinion you are missing out on the full potential of this 18 YO. *You cannot treat a Speyside 18 YO like a 12 Year Old.* Here is something you could try. Find a relaxing 2 hours without disturbance. Don't stand as if you are drinking shots at a train station bar. Sit down in your favourite armchair and relax. Pour yourself a dram. Add a drop of water, give it a gentle swirl, put it down and then wait around 15 to 20 minutes for the 18 YO to unwind open up and relax. Chat with friends or listen to some classical music, (Beethoven Symphony No. 6 is a good start). While the 18 YO is opening up, you can establish a base line to calibrate your palette to the Speyside flavour profile by sipping the excellent Glen Moray 12 YO which, like it's older sister is matured exclusively in Ex-Bourbon casks. Sniff and if there is a slight alcohol pinch o the nose, add a few more drops, give it a gentle swirl and wait another few minutes. Then try again. The Glen Moray should be giving wonderful sweet honeydew melon and ripe pear fruity notes. heather honey, fresh bread dough, straight out the oven digestive biscuits and light spicies with a sprinkling of caster sugar. Sip slowly and make it last. Gradually, you will come to apreciate that 18 years in the cask was worth waiting for.
Thx for the review guys! Thus far, Glen Moray eluded me as most official versions were pretty bland - I think I tried one of the younger ones and quickly forgot about it. The 18 sounds decent price-performance wise though I'd probably go for something more special cask strength/vintage if I can find it. A h2h with the similar (even cheaper?) Glenfarclas 18 would be interesting.
True, higher abv is always good, provides room for experiments. This one peaked my interest, unfortunately not this month - already chose my christmas malts...: www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/92429/glen-moray-2005-private-edition
Thanks Guys: Admittedly, I like GLEN MORAY for the mixture of quality and price point. I Love G.M. 10 Chardonnay Cask MATURED and I have the GLEN MORAY Peated Elgin Classic on my self; indeed had a glass last Saturday, on a Snowy night. I have the 18 y.o. on order, learning of it from your sampling at Whisky Fest. I will share my impressions of the 18 when I get my bottle. According to the distillery they will be discontinuing the 10 Chardonnay Cask MATURED in favor of a 10 FINISHED version. Very Valuable review for me. Tapah Libh (Topah Liv) Scottish Gaelic for Thank you (plural) Mike
Let us know your thoughts when you try the 18. Would like to hear your impressions of this since you are a fan of the distillery. I’m going to be looking for the Chardonnay matured while it is still around I think. Thanks for watching! - Shawn
My very first single malt was a Glen Moray 12 which came in a comemorative tin box which I bought at Heathrow airport in 1988. I was hooked from then on. I enjoyed the old 16 YO from the early 1990s. I regulary drink the Elgin Classic and 12 Year Old. I had a bottle of Classic Peated once which I enjoyed but it's unavailable where I live. I have just ordered my second bottle of the 18 YO from Master of Malts in London. My brother is visiting me in a few weeks so is bringing it out in his luggage.
Btw lads its pronounced Murray as in Andy Murray just to make things easier. They are probably from the region where the great Sir Andrew Moray helped with William Wallace aka Braveheart helped repel those pesky English before King Robert The Bruce (whom my direct ancestor was his armour-bearer) finished the job and granted us independence (whom a lot of your own Declaration Of Independence was taken from five centuries later!). As to Glen Moray itself, I've only tried one and it was the Elgin Classic which tasted very soapy and I couldn't finish, so we turned it into marmalade which done it a favour imo! You guys have to try a Glencadam for a lighter whisky; great value for money, good ABV, non-chill filtered and colour-free. They are small so may be hard to get over in the States, but the 10 yo (and 15 by all accounts - just bought myself a bottle this week!) is fabulous value. One for Shawn; I started on Aberlour A'bunadh this week mate, and its delicious stuff, a perfect cold winter (which it very much is here) Christmas whisky - and the first note I got when I opened the bottle was MARZIPAN!! No headaches yet, though I can't drink too much of it as its overly sweet and have to finish off on a peat monster afterwards!
Just seen your comment. Pronounced Murray, correct! I actually loved the Glen Moray Classic. Very drinkable easy going dram. The most aproachable of any Speyside and a brilliant first time single malt recommendation as you don't need to add any water and it's ready, neat, straight out the bottle for a price comparable to medium priced Blends. For a slightly more spicy wood and heavier flavour, go for the 12 YO. As you know, I, along with you, love Glencadam but it's a Southern Eastern Highlander with rich biscuit, orange glaze and honey spices flavour notes. The Glen Moray has a light Speyside, floral, white fruity, fresh dough character. You get a similar flavour profile with the old Tamnavulin 12 YO or the 14 YO Tomintoul (old bottling, not the new one).
The Glen Morays offerings here are bad 😕 Wish we could get the 18, though you seem to be searching for good stuff in it more than straight up loving it.
It is definitely a lighter style scotch and some of the flavors are more subtle. It isn’t a scotch for all occasions but it has a place on my bar for sure. - Shawn
