Glen Moray SMWS 35.112 17yo 1996/2014 52.5%
This is a Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling. In order to hide the distillery, a code number is assigned, but a simple google search will reveal the related distillery. In this case it is a Glen Moray, the 112 tells you it is the 112nd bottle from Glen Moray. The SMWS has Chapters worldwide but unfortuntely none in Singapore, and one has to be a member in order to purchase their bottles, plus they do not ship out of the local country, so their bottlings are somewhat rare here.
The Glen Moray name has a history but the actual distillery was rebuilt in 1958, and recently changed hands in 2008 when LVMH-owned Glenmorangie Plc sold it off to La Martiniquaise. I don’t know how the spirit from this new era will turn out, but the distillery itself looks well tended, and the front of shop service was great:
Can’t say much about the over-vinous Chardonnay finish 10 yo though.
(The only photo of this bottle I could find online – credit to Ben’s whisky blog)
Nose: Soft meadow flowers and lots of bourbon influence – vanilla creme, butterscotch and the like. Light and uplifting fluffy nose, like a floral marshmellow. But a moment later, traces of a vegetal funk. Very strange. White wine and a little waxy too. White pepper and cardboard. With water: cleaner, waxier.
Palette: Sweet! Very sweet with toffee and cereals. Still floral and waxy but a big blast of ‘clean’ white spices plus aniseed? Clean light ‘high’ aromatics and lots of spice, very pleasant. With water: eh doesn’t take water very well.
Finish: Long, gets drier and more bruleéd.
Very strange nose, something funky and stale plus flowers never works well for me. I would have been inclined to believe it was my glass, but out of curiosity I googled for other tasting notes, and found Ben’s, who also found it weird. The palette is much better though.
Whiskyrific RSS
- Millburn 36 yo 1969 / 2005 Douglas Laing #DL2152 50% vs Glenburgie 40 yo 1963 / 2003 Signatory #4751 56.4%
- Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland for the Nectar #536 51.3% vs A Speyside Distillery 32 yo 1989 / 2022 Thompson Bros 51.4%
- Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 61.1% vs Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 58.7%
- Talimburg 19 yo 1986 / 2005 The Whisky Fair #1485 45.9% vs Talisker 20 yo 1981 / 2002 62%
- Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
- Clynelish 29 yo 1965 Whyte & Whyte 52.1%
- Brora 21 yo 1982 / 2003 Signatory #416 58.4% vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982 / 2009 Synch Eli Daily Dram 46%
- Dornoch 5 yo 2017 / 2023 #46 ‘Jasper Broers’ 57.9% vs Shizuoka ‘private cask’ 2017 / 2022 #2017-108 61%
- Clynelish 26 yo 1993 / 2020 Carn Mor #11215 52.7% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 /2021 SMWS 3.327 ‘Siren’s Song’ 57.1%
- Talisker 25 yo ‘Bottle TA25 3987’ 45.8% ~ bottle code L0296CM004 bottled 2020 vs Ledaig 11 yo 2008 / 2019 The Swan Song & 1BRD #700104 58.7%
whiskyrific 