
December 5, 2025

WF's Little Duos, today classic Glen Moray OB vs wild IB

Generally, it's the other way round, the official bottlings tend to be much more ‘creative’ when it comes to wine and wood finishes. But I must admit, lately some independent bottlers (not all) seem keen to catch up by using casks that don’t always make a lot of sense.

Glen Moray 15 yo (40%, OB, Bourbon & Sherry cask, +/-2025)

We had tried an earlier version, with a different livery, some eight years ago, it wasn’t bad at all (WF 81). We had found it very honest for the price… Colour: gold. Nose: fresh, cheerful, malty, marked by orange zest, honey and a lovely little duet of aniseed and mint. I find it very expressive for a Glen Moray. Mouth: well, this is very good, rather indulgent, I believe it’s a clear improvement, there’s quite a lot going on and even the 40% vol. aren’t too frustrating. We find the honey and oranges again, biscuits, blueberry muffins, orange cake with grated zest, then a few caramelised nuts, perhaps from the sherry. Finish: long, still joyful and fresh, here are the honey, the oranges and the faintest hint of tobacco. Malty aftertaste. Comments: very good, and the prices remain extremely reasonable.
SGP:641 - 84 points.

Glen Moray 18 yo 2007/2025 (57.2%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Odyssey, Muscat finish, 186 bottles)

After the official tequila-finished version, which wasn’t bad at all a month ago, here comes the muscat, king of the ultra-aromatic grape varieties and sometimes a little… well, you know, insistent… There’s a ruder word for that sort of thing but let’s refrain. And of course there are excellent muscats as well. Colour: rosé gold. Nose: not that far off, but it does veer more clearly, with rose petals and a very prominent blood orange, raspberry liqueur that seems to appear from nowhere, then cloves and cumin elbowing their way in. In any case, it’s fun. With water: things settle down a bit, one finds little honey and walnut cakes. Mouth (neat): very sweet, almost liqueur-like. Still rose, fig, cranberry, raspberry and raisins. Corinthian or otherwise. With water: not much change, though apricot liqueur does make an appearance. Finish: fairly long, jammy, still rather liqueur-like. Comments: given the choice, we would have liked to know which kind of muscat this was, there are many varieties and even more regions producing it. Overall, I find this really good, though I still preferred the charming official, which was less extravagant.
SGP:741 - 82 points.

Check the index of all Glen Moray we've tasted