Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask Finish review

Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask Finish comes from Glen Moray distillery, located in West End of Elgin which makes it the most northerly Speyside distillery.

Nowadays owned by La Martiniquaise, the distillery was founded in 1897 and it’s in the capitol of Moray. The distillery has been shortlisted in top 10 visitor centres in 2014 and Glen Moray is the sixth biggest malt whisky brand in the UK by volume. Distillery Manager Graham Coull is only the fifth one in more than 100 years. Glen Moray has 250 000 casks in maturation in their on-site warehouses.

Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask Finish is part of the Glen Moray Elgin Classic Collection, which also includes Glen Moray Classic Peated Single Malt and Glen Moray Classic Port Cask Finish. Glen Moray also has a 10 year old single malt, completely matured in Chardonnay casks, which sounds interesting. Other age stated expressions available are the 12, 16 and 25 year old single malts.

Single Malt from Watertown

Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask Finish has been double matured, first in Ex-Bourbon American Oak barrels, finished for 8 months in Chardonnay casks. I must admit that this dram receives a lot from Burgundy, even though the Chardonnay finish is “only” 8 months. It is a light Speysider but with a sparkly twist because of the wine influence.

Sweet and bubbly summer dram, light but quite a character. Although there are some watery moments as well. Song called Watertown comes to mind – because it was sang by Frank Sinatra, who was quite a character as well. Watertown is also the name of an tribute short film honoring Sinatra, based on his Watertown album from 1970’s.

Matured in:

Matured in Ex-Bourbon Barrels, finished in Ex-Wine casks

Colour: Golden amber

Nose: Fruity sparkling wine and grapefruits. Nutty with warming spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.

Taste: Sweet with acid feel – like mellow gin (and tonic) or very acidic sparkling wine. Fruity notes with caramelized sweetness and bit of cinnamon. Definitely a summer dram.

Finish: Gives mixed feelings. First it’s bit watery and oaky dry. But the aftertaste coming in late has fairly nice notes of dessert wine and vanilla. Bit spicy as well.

Balance: Light and bubbly dram. Nicely mellow. I’m surprised I liked it, because it’s not a strong character.