Glen Moray 11 Year SMWS 35.254 “Pure decadence”
Whisky : Glen Moray 11 Year SMWS 35.254 “Pure decadence”
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 63.9%
Cask : Ex-Oloroso butt 9Y, New Oak Heavy Char #4 Puncheon 2Y
Age : 11 Years (Distilled March 2008)
Nose : Malty Halloween candy grab bag: candy corn, milk duds, butterfingers, and whoppers. Cask char comes through as burning chimneys, jack-o’-lantern candles, and haunted house smoke machines. The dry grassiness of hay bales along with sweet fruity cotton candy hint strongly of pumpkin patches and haunted hay rides.
Palate : Medium body, but intensely palate coating with tons of tannic structure. Sweet with loads of candies; whoppers, Red Vine licorice, and chocolate covered fruits. Chicory and coffee spiked with holiday spices develop with time, while woody sugars and a dry cinnamon start to build on the mid palate. Hints of floral black tea, jam, and pastries come on the end.
Finish : Long and lingering with sweet caramel malt and a slowly building dryness.
Score : 7
Mental Image : Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Something Similar : Craigellachie 15Y SMWS 44.110 (similar autumn profile, less candy, more spice)
Something Similar : Westward 5Y; K&L Cask Selection (similar coffee, spice, and chicory, less malty)
Something Worse : Glenallachie 7Y SMWS 107.17 (similar candy grab bag, less complex, much sweeter)
Notes : A belated bottle for SMWSA’s 2020 Festival series— while all the other bottles came out in mid-May, this lone Speysider came a few months later. This was hands down the best Glen Moray I have ever had. I came into this tasting with pretty low expectations, Glen Moray was never terrible, but it was never been that interesting to me. The combination of, what I assume to be a refill Oloroso butt, and a heavily charred New Oak puncheon have done just the trick. This had a lovely rich flavor profile, great mouthfeel, and a beautiful long finish.
While I am not sure my description sounds all that appealing to me, this was really nice. Candy flavors and bright spice are not usually my thing— typically if I include candy notes its because something in my brain has said ‘this is too sweet.’ Yet, this was a nostalgic candy trip in which all sugar is good sugar and the only better sugar is more sugar. The rich malty spice notes as well as hints of coffee and chocolate kept the sweetness in line and I thought the more subtle notes that came alive toward the end were really nice. This was a great dram to sit and chew on and definitely scored ahead of the curve for me.
