This year the box contained four 100ml bottles, two recent additions to the core range and two single cask bottlings.
Some distilleries, maybe with lower marketing budgets, provide small samples, some I've had barely half filled a 'normal' 30ml sample bottle. One I received a couple of years ago contained three full 700ml bottles! Even though the @TweetTastings are planned weeks, if not months, in advance some distilleries send their samples at the last minute and if you're not in when the postman calls you'll miss the tasting. Glen Moray excel on both points - lovely large samples delivered in plenty of time! This is great as it allows the lucky chosen few to decant and share the whisky with friends in plenty of time for the tasting, resulting in more tweets and more publicity for the brand. A win-win so that's what myself and the other members of the #MiniTasting gang did - share our samples!
Recently @Graham_Coul left Glen Moray for a new challenge in Ireland with Dingle, you can read some more about it here. But what he left behind are warehouses full of his, and his predecessors, handywork. So for this tasting we got to try 3 from Graham and one from his immediate predecessor Ed Dodson.
First up was Graham's Rhum Agricole finish, a 46.3% ABV 8yo with the final 2 years being in a rum cask.
Appearance: a lovely gold in the glass, swirls cling to the glass and fall as slow thick legs!
Nose: loads of tropical notes as expected! Pineapple, mango, coconut but there's also some stewed pear, loads of brown sugar and a hint of sour grapefruit. Nice!
Palate: sweet and sour, tropical and citrus fighting on your tongue. Some banana, dried pineapple and grapefruit in here, the brown sugar has gone. It's a strange one this - not a typical
@GlenMorayDist .....
Finish: slightly sour grapefruit notes, then a long lingering note of chocolate covered pineapple chunks?
Other tweeters thoughts:
Next up was one from Ed, with a finishing touch from Graham, the 21yo Portwood finish at 46.3%
Appearance: a lovey pinky hued gold. Swirls cling before falling as slow thick legs. Initial nose: golden syrup!
Nose: blackberries, black currants, black cherries, plums - in fact any black fruit. A little syrupy sweetness and a hint of vanilla.
Palate: more of the fruit from the nose, some icing sugar dryness and a big note of chocolate digestive biscuit. Again not a typical GM dram. There's spice on this one too - a lovely hot chilli.
Finish: very drying, loads of chilli spice. The berries from the nose and palate linger. Nice but I can't help feeling this would have been better at cask strength.
Other tweeters thoughts:
The third dram of the evening was Graham's single cask for Edinburgh Rugby, a 14yo matured for the final 4 years in an ex-Chardonnay wine cask.
Appearance: a dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as an inverted crown and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose: oak is influencing here - vanilla, toffee, a hint of pepper. A dry note coming across - the wine influence? A little longer in the glass reveals some dried apple and almonds.
Palate: Wow - yyuummyy!! super dry arrival, dried apple, dried pear and the vanilla from the the nose. Some nut notes and the wine grapes coming through. This is hitting the spot perfectly!
Finish: loads of chilli spice to start with then more of the apples, pears and grapes, Huge icing sugar dryness. Yummy!
Other tweeters thoughts:
Final dram of the night was Graham's single cask peated Gamay Wine cask finish, a 5yo at a whopping 60.6%
Appearance: a lovely reddy gold in the glass and a huge 60.6% ABV. Swirls cling thinly and evaporate, no legs to speak of.
Nose: peat smoke dominates but little hints of red and black fruit try to squeeze through. A little time offers hay or damp grass, a little dryness and some syrup sweetness. This is where I think the Glen Moray spirit really shines - when it's peated. I could nose this all night, I'm going to have to leave some in the bottle for bad days a work!
Palate: Woah - the ABV, Peat smoke and spice hit you all at once! It's a lovely thick syrupy arrival, instantly drying, a little strawberry and chocolate then the peat blankets everything! YUMMY!
Finish: long lingering smoke, a little fruit and that icing sugar dryness - yummy!
Other tweeters thoughts:
Many thanks to Steve and Brand Ambassador Iain for join in!
A fantastic evening of Glen Moray drams and I had a feeling Graham was probably following along in the background, he rounded the evening off with a thanks!
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