Glen Moray Double Cask (40%)

A Glen Moray, a distillery bottling, at 40%. Glen Moray, founded in 1897 in a former brewery, is one of Speyside's best loved malts. It was built on Gallow Hill at Elgin, the old site of the town's hangings.

It was worked through the stills for a light, sweet make, for a clean make of orchard fruit and a soft honey. Maturation finished in a Red Wine cask, layered over the light Glen Moray make. No age is given, but vanillin vanilla and a bright apple are well integrated. The accessible, fruity make is the base for the distillery's many cask finishes. It was a pioneer of wine cask finishing, working with Chardonnay casks back in the 1990s. Maturation in the bonded warehouses at Elgin is slow and steady. A pioneer of wine cask finishing, Glen Moray has long layered fruit over its light malt. It has been owned since 2008 by the French house La Martiniquaise. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit.

At 40% it is light and soft. A fresh, fruity sweetness, with red berry and a dry spice from the cask. A soft fruit and a gentle oak give it depth. The finish runs light, fruity and clean. This is the easy, fruity malt of Elgin.