Whisky : Glen Moray 31 Year SMWS 35.228 “Cigar Juice”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 48.9%

Cask : Ex-bourbon (28Y) First Fill Oloroso Hogshead (3Y)

Age : 31 Year (Distilled 18 Sept. 1987)

Nose :  Dried fruits, tobacco, and wood.  An incredibly complex assortment of aromas drifted out as if opening a cherry wood box to find it filled with cigars and then opening it again to find ginger snap and molasses cookies.  Rich woody notes of well worn dance studio floors along with the herbaceous spice of chicory, tobacco, and coffee beans.  Dried fruit with plums and cherries complemented a fudgey chocolate that peeked out from the mystery box of aromas.

Palate : Medium bodied with a nice oiliness and notes of herbaceous tobacco, dried fruits, and wood char.    Initially sweet with dried Bing cherries, plums, dark brown sugar, molasses, and cigar box.  Roasty charred notes of cacao nibs and slightly bitter baking chocolate provided a nice contrast as the dram developed.  Semi-sweet notes of espresso, molasses cookies, and dark chocolate lingered at the end.

Finish :  Long and lingering with semi-sweet notes of dark chocolate, coffee beans, plums.

Score : 8

Mental Image : Pandora’s Box of Sweets and Treats

Notes :  Wow.  This had a lot going on and this dram grew on me a lot between the first tasting and the last.  Initially this was a bit closed off, but with more time to breath (or a few drops of water) it opened up beautifully.  The heady sherry finish did not drown out the notes of the malt and this struck a fascinating balance between different and distinct layers of flavor.  I am incredibly curious as to how this tasted before it was moved into a first fill Oloroso hogshead— it would be interesting to know what this dram was like before the finish.

The wife wandered where the tobacco was on this dram.  The SMWS name would imply that this was heavy with tobacco notes— and while I did pick up on them, primarily the mild sweet impression of an old cigar box— the wife did not pick up on any.  She reckoned that the dram reminded her of a good old woody bourbon with the prominent notes of old wood, brown sugar, and molasses.

Overall, this was definitely one of the best Glen Moray I have tried.  At $410 this was well outside of my price range so this was not normally the sort of dram I would get to try unless I can buy or bum a sample off of someone.  In terms of drams in that price range, this was definitely a good one— you could do a lot worse— but there are also plenty of better value propositions out there.

Image Credit : whiskyauctioneer.com