End of an era? - Glen Moray

I first heard the news back in July, but it wasn't made public until August, @Graham__Coull and @Fay_Coull would be leaving @GlenMorayDist and travelling across the Irish Sea to @DingleWhiskey

Just in case you aren't aware Graham has been Master Distiller at Glen Moray for 14 years, only their fifth Master Distiller.

He and his wife are popular and regular tweeters, happy to join in conversations and share news and pictures of the distillery.

Graham's also not afraid of making fun of himself!

Nosing a whisky Graham Coull style!

Fay is a hard task master in the warehouse!

Many people have visited the distillery and picked up his very reasonably priced Bottle Your Own (BYO), unfortunately I've not been able to visit the distillery but have bought a number of BYOs which the distillery visitors centre have posted to me!

Back in September Graham tweeted a picture of the last two BYOs he would be putting out before he left, one a 2014  peated GM fully matured in a Gamay red wine cask @ 60.4% abv and the last a 2008 GM finished for 4 months in a Knob Creek Rye cask @ 62.9% abv

I love a dram of spicy rye and following Graham's answers to my questions...

I knew I had to have a bottle, a quick phone call and a few days later a beautifully presented box arrived from the distillery!

So what's it like then?

Distillery info:

Distilled in 2006, the original spirit was filled into ex-bourbon casks at 69.2%, then finished for 4 months in a Knob Creek Rye cask and bottled in 2019 at 62.9%.

Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling for a while before falling as slow thick legs.

Slow thick legs

Straight out of the bottle:

Nose: Huge earth notes, vanilla and orchard fruit, the high ABV is immediately noticeable. Some sweetness and a hint of citrus spiciness.

 Palate: Thick syrupy arrival, instantly drying. The vanilla and stewed pear notes from the nose come through as well as a chewy bread note. The ABV is there but doesn't overly power the whisky. There's a lovely spice bite - a mixture of lemon and oak - very interesting!

Finish: The spice dominates now, very warming with a lingering citrus / oaky note. There is some orchard fruit and again a little earthy note - maybe dunnage warehouse?

Left in the glass for a couple of hours to 'breathe':

Nose: Wow - it's changed quite a lot - much more orchard fruit driven, pears and apples covered in vanilla custard. The bready note has gone but the ABV is still there. I think the citrus spice is a little subdued, the oak spice has taken over.

Palate: Same thick syrupy arrival, mouth coating and drying but the spice if anything has increased - it's lip tingling! A few more sips and the citrus note is back - but it's sour grapefruit rather than lemon. It's like a different dram!

Finish: This is the area which probably hasn't changed too much, still lingering spiciness with the orchard fruit and that earth note.

Overall: So for me after port finished whisky, and peated whisky, rye comes a close third in preference! I think this is the first rye cask finished dram I've had and it's really impressive - loads of rye-esk spice notes but with that added dimension of citrus spice. When poured a little time before tying there is a noticeable difference, I think for the better, more spicy and with a sour edge - Yummy! I was in two minds over whether to add water to this one, and for this review I didn't - it's a whisky that needs respect otherwise the ABV will hurt. I'm sure water will change it - but I'll keep that for a future review!

Remember all of the output from Glen Moray for the next few years or so will still be Graham's work, in the same way that when Graham first took over he was releasing whisky from his predecessor Ed Dodson. So whilst we look forward the releases from the new incumbent, we can continue to enjoy his great whisky.

This may have been Graham's last BYO but I'm sure the distillery will continue to release good value, excellent quality BYOs for the foreseeable future!

Photo: @GlenMorayIain

So as of the end of October Graham has now started as distillery manager and master distiller at Dingle Distillery on Ireland’s beautiful southwest Atlantic coast and he's already starting sharing photos of his work at the distillery!

He seems to have settled in very well!

Best of luck to Graham and Fay on their new adventure!