Glen Moray 12 Years Old (40%)

This official Glen Moray, a 12 year old, at 40%. Glen Moray is a Speyside single malt and a pioneer of wine cask finishing. It was a pioneer of wine cask finishing, working with Chardonnay casks back in the 1990s.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated malt in copper pot stills, giving a clean, sweet Speyside spirit. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the light spirit. In integration lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the spirit, the green apple deepening to honey and toffee. The accessible, fruity make is the base for the distillery's many cask finishes. It was founded in 1897 in the converted Elgin West Brewery, on the banks of the River Lossie. Most of its malt matures first in American oak ex-Bourbon before any cask finish. It closed in 1910 and reopened in 1923 under Macdonald and Muir of Glenmorangie. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit.

Reduced to 40%, it is mellow. Apple, pear and a soft vanilla, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a gentle spice lift it. Apple, pear and a soft oak see out the finish. This is a light Speyside malt from the banks of the Lossie.