Glen Moray distillery is located in the Speyside town of Elgin, Morayshire and was founded in 1897 when a former brewery (West) was converted into a distillery.

It was closed in 1910, only briefly trying to reopen for a few months before it fell silent for more than ten years.

MacDonald & Muir purchased the distillery in 1902 but didn't resume production until 1923.

Glen Moray was rebuilt in 1958 and in 1956, MacDonald & Muir changed their name to Glenmorangie PLC before selling out to LVMH in 2004.

LVMH sold the distillery on to La Martiniquaise in 2008.

Distillery phot by Zenit via Wikimedia Creative Commons Licence

More great distillery info here thanks to Malt Madness

General whisky characteristics: Aromatic, light, slightly oily

Glen Moray, (OB), 8y, 43% ABV

1990's presentation

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very pale gold

Nose: Very aromatic new shoe leather (not heavy boots, more like calf-skin mocassins) expanding slowly to incloude sugar-coated almonds and light popcorn.

Palate: Initially slightly oily in texture but offering a fresh spiciness across the palate. The flavours are very faint and include malt, popcorn and even very slight hints of coconut.

Finish: Medium

Overall Impression: Very light, but tingly, aperitif whisky. Maybe serve with slightly smoky cheese for extra depth and effect.

A bit of fun,

Glen Moray 8y as above, but 'Graced' by 7 days in a 'Grande Fine Metaxa decanter'

Why? Well, why not? I had finished the Metaxa (which my local Greek restaurant says is 40y, but the decanter markings only state "very old") and as this is an extremely aromatic drink, I decided to pour a little of the nearest whisky I had to hand into the empty, but very fragrant decanter. There it stood for 7 whole days. Did it make any difference? Is it drinkable? Read on;

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: No change, still pale gold (as there was no actual Metaxa left in the decanter to enrich the colour.)

Nose: Very aromatic new shoe leather with hints of oak. (The lighter sugar and almond elements have gone).

Palate: Still slightly oily, but much richer with a very definite cognac influence. Gone are the malt, popcorn and coconut

Finish: Long, with a red-wine / cognac dryness

Overall Impression: I'm impressed, possibly better than the original un'graced' version.

Independent Bottlers (IB)

Duncan Taylor, Glen Moray,  9.1986 - 8.2011, 24y, 51.7% ABV

Cask No.2306, bottle No.38 of 249

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light gold

Nose: Goodness, how about "faintly leafy malt dipped in Brasso"? The leafy Brasso then faddes to leave a fruity suggestion of gentle vanilla and apricot, developing further to include other light fruits with a very creamy mouth-feel, but all quite subdued or faint.

Palate: Lots more 'oomph' than the subdued nose as I sense toasted vanilla and light summer fruits including a suggestion of oil of orange. There's even a hint of dark chocolate leading towards the finish.

Finish: Long and gently rich.

Overall Impression: A very good whisky offering lots, even though the nose is subdued, but maybe that's an endearing characteristic too.

SMWS, Glen Moray,  distilled Jan.1990, 21y, 59.2% ABV

Cask No.35.62, one of 232 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics live review at SMWS Vaults

Glass: SMWS

Colour: Sunny yellow

Nose: Lots of lightly peppery butterscotch with a hint of furniture polish.

Palate: Peppery apple pie, crumble or strudel with a suggestion of cinnamon. There's also some very light coconut, pineapple and a hint of freshly-sawn new wood.

With 4 drops of water: Lots more of that applie pie and custard and extremely creamy mouth-feel too.

Finish: Long, much longer with the water.

Overall Impression: This was served as our aperitif dram during an evening at the SMWS Vaults and was an excellent choice as such. It's very creamy, light and just the thing to start an evening.

Duncan Taylor, Glen Moray,  "Rare Auld", 1975-2010, 34y, 52.7% ABV

Cask No.64

Typical cost of this bottle; Unknown

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold

Nose: Initially lots of flowery and perfumed grassiness which just expands further with time. Extremely aromatic, but also extremely flowery and perfumed. Given yet more time it develops a quite fresh and antiseptic character with hints of musty cardboard.

Palate: A very creamy mouth-feel offers toffee, vanilla, caramel and yes, lots of perfumed grassiness too.

Finish: Medium to long.

Overall Impression: Sadly those flowery and perfumed notes just don't work for me, in fact it's just not as harmonious as I would have liked.