Generously_Paul
Glen Moray Elgin Classic Port Cask Finish
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
October 10, 2017 (edited February 23, 2018)
Stop number 41 on the SDT is Glen Moray. This Speyside distillery was previously owned by Moët Hennessy/Louis Vuitton, which owns Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, but they dropped the brand as it didn't fit with their luxury profile. Glen Moray is now a part of La Martiniquaise, France's second largest spirits company. Ok, enough with the backstory now let's get to the good stuff.
This NAS expression is bottled at 40% ABV, is most likely chill filtered, but appears to be a natural color (although a have no actual proof) of strawberry blonde. I have no idea of its age or of how long the port finishing process was.
The nose starts sweet with buttery croissants, strawberry Jolly Rancher candies and some port wine notes. Very sweet indeed. Honey, nutmeg and a little cinnamon & sugar. This is definitely a dessert dram. I get lemon squares dusted with powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Almond paste or marzipan comes and goes. This is like smelling a dessert table at a family holiday party. Some cinnamony oak in the background. A malty character shows up after a while. This is a great nose that is complex, although overall it is somewhat subdued and watered down.
Spicier than expected on the palate given how sweet the nose was. A fair amount of oak and sweet port notes. Some blueberry/blackberry pie. Dark chocolate and a touch of ginger. Again, very good, but watered down and lacking in power.
Light bodied mouthfeel that is thin and dry.
Medium short finish that has port wine, almond paste and lemon candy.
Scott did a masterful job in his review and I picked up on most of the same things he did with only a few differences. A big thanks to him for the sample he provided. This scotch is so close to being great. Everything is there, it just needs a higher ABV to carry it across the finish line. I love the nose, very pleasant if not a tad unbalanced from all the sweet notes. The palate is a bit thin and the finish is too short. 46-50% ABV would have made this a force to be reckoned with. Hell, I'd even take 43%. At around $25-30 you really are getting a great value for money. Without that low price I would give this a 3.5, but it's VFM factor gives it a boost to 3.75. I now had a very strong desire to try the 25 year port finished version!
Cheers 🥃
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Oh, that Odin. That is heaven in a Glencairn. I think I stashed away 2oz of that somewhere. Man, Odin and the 25yo in a single session....just when you thought it was over and you drop the mic and walk off stage, the 25 makes you go back out there (all embarrassed), pick it up and drop it again. Those 2 malts will ruin any other Highland Park’s forever...
It CAN wait, but one of those samples I have is Odin...I'm thinking that I'm still going to save that one for after all of the other "inferior" HPs
Good to know, Paul. So that Highland Park Uberfanboy box I just made up for you can wait.... Since you’re so swamped, haha
I took inventory last night, between the rest of the SDT samples, the bonus samples, and several others that have accumulated over the months, I have 17 left to go. I'm just trying to play catchup before I get dumped with another 15-20 in a month. Ow, my liver just punched my kidneys
He's almost done. it's like that kid in school who finishes his math test in 5 minutes while the rest of us take the full hour
Slow down, man. Geez, makin’ us look bad.... j/k
@Scott_E good to know. I figured it was less than 12 months.
The bottle does says "finished for 8 months in port pipes." - to answer your question on the finishing process length. Great review. Very similar experience. Your cinnamon notes I took as ginger. I was internally debating that and felt it most resembled ginger. I totally agree if it was punched up to at least 43% it would be much improved. Not bad for the cost.