Glen Moray ‘Dial-a-Dram’

Over the course of the past few months, many distilleries and brands have found creative ways of adapting their business and moving consumer engagement online, whether it be through Zoom tastings or livestreamed Facebook and IGTV events, or by simply reverting to the good old fashioned method of picking up the phone and talking to an actual person. Despite their distillery being closed for tours, Glen Moray have brought this personal touch back to the process of choosing and purchasing their 2020 distillery exclusive releases. There are three to choose from; a Chardonnay cask finish, a Burgundy cask finish, and a Chenin Blanc cask finish, each of which are aged 16-17 years old, and priced at £85. That’s not an insignificant sum of money (albeit great value for what you’re getting), so to help you out they’ve launched a ‘dial-a-dram’ service – simply give the distillery a call and the team will advise you on the whisky best suited to your tastes. You can then place an order right there and then and have the bottle shipped out to you. Voilà!

Glen Moray Brand Ambassador and Visitor Centre Manager Iain Allan commented: “Buying a bottle of Glen Moray from our annual Distillery Edition is as much about the experience of a visit to the distillery as it is about buying a wonderful new whisky. For the many people who would normally make the trip and take away one of these special bottles, we wanted to find a way to make the range available but avoid making it just a basic transaction over email or the internet. Everyone working at the distillery enjoys nothing more than talking about whisky with fellow enthusiasts, answering questions and sharing behind the scenes stories of how Glen Moray is made. So if you can’t make the visit in person this year, please just pick up the phone and dial our distillery team.”

Let’s take a look at all three releases.

Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask
2003 Vintage
Cask #7670
58.9% ABV
£85 Distillery Exclusive

Nose: Light and juicy, with apple core, pear skin, nectarine, some apricot, acacia honey and some toffee pennies.

Palate: Loads of honey initially, then spun sugar, poached peaches and apricot, baked apples and a touch of spiced stroopwafel. Just the lightest lick of oak in the background.

Finish: Stays sweet, along with dusty baking spices, toasted coconut and charred twigs.

Glen Moray Burgundy Cask
2004 Vintage
Cask #213
60.1% ABV
£85 Distillery Exclusive

Nose: A couple of ‘green’ notes on top – pine and tomato vines, then really quite earthy, with toasted walnut, cocoa powder, mulchy forest floor, and damp logs.

Palate: Prune, date, dried fig, toasted currants, spiced raisins, sultana loaf and demerara sugar. There’s some Jamaica cake and thick oak underneath.

Finish: Dark chocolate, Morello cherry, and juicy currants are underpinned with a rolling oakiness.

Glen Moray Chenin Blanc Cask
2004 Vintage
Cask #341
60.3% ABV
£85 Distillery Exclusive

Nose: Quite savoury, with baclava, honey glazed ham, some old leather, burnt sugar, a touch of copper pennies, and dusty oak.

Palate: Starts meaty and leathery, with some struck match, before the fruit kicks in – bramble, dark cherry, faint molasses, burnt Christmas cake ends and a fair whack of clove.

Finish: Big earthy/woody spices, with cask stave, mocha, and dark treacle.

Overall: These are three very well chosen casks, each quite different in their flavour profile, but equally stellar in terms of quality. The Chardonnay cask stays on the lighter side of things, and is perhaps the closest of the three releases to some of the more accessible core range expressions you might’ve tried. The Burgundy cask is much richer, and will appeal to those who like classic sherried Speyside whiskies, what with all the currant/dried fruit/berry notes. The Chenin Blanc cask is a bit of a brute, with just a touch of sulphur making for a rather savoury, but satisfying dram. Given that they’re all the same (very wallet-friendly) price, if you asked me which one I’d spent my £85 on, it’d likely be the Burgundy cask – rich, fruity, layered and very rewarding. Once a cask runs out (I think at least one may have sold out already), it’ll be replaced with a different single cask, and I can’t wait to see what replacements they’ve lined up.