A mini verticale of indie Glen Moray


April 16, 2026

A mini verticale of indie Glen Moray

We’re rather fond of Glen Moray, which was, a long time ago, one of the entry-level malts in France, thanks to its very reasonable prices under the stewardship of Glenmorangie. As ever, we also tend to prefer versions that are not finished or flavoured, particularly with table wine, and that is precisely what we’re going to be tasting today. I mean, no wine.

Glen Moray 15 yo 2010/2025 (57.2%, Archives, the Fishes of Samoa, barrel, cask #800570, 104 bottles)

Ah, the return of the Samoa fishes, I must say we had grown rather accustomed to them and even developed a certain affection for them. Colour: white wine. Nose: pure and even massive chalk, apple juice, cut grass and vanilla. A slight touch of hand cream. With water: even more hand cream, plasticine, guacamole and still that rather massive chalky side. Mouth (neat): very lively, sharp, very much in keeping with the nose, in the style of a zero-dosage champagne from a modern house. Some grated lemon zest behind all that vigour. With water: arrival of green pepper. Finish: long, taut, ultra-precise, on chalk, concentrated lemon and green pepper. The vanilla barely rounds things off a little in the aftertaste. Comments: with sushi or a seafood platter!
SGP:371 - 87 points.

Glen Moray 21 yo 2003/2025 (53%, Maltbarn, bourbon, No. 249, 181 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: well this is exactly the same malt, with seven additional years of ageing. This means here that the aromatic profile is identical, simply more rounded and more vanilla-led, with apples that are a little older, almost bruised. It is simple and very beautiful, like a… let us say like an old blues. With water: the same. Notes of green melon and fresh barley. Mouth (neat): exactly the same again, but the gap with the 2010 is even smaller, in short it is lemony to one’s heart’s content, very lively, marked by wee pears and green apples as well as a very slight ‘Clynelish’ side, fleeting but recognisable. With water: little change, apart from the arrival of the expected lime and green pepper. A tiny touch of coconut, most certainly coming from the bourbon cask. Finish: it unfolds on apple tart, sprinkled with a little lemon and green pepper. Comments: an elemental malt, in the noblest sense of the term. Excellent.
SGP:461 - 88 points.

Right then, a little eleven-year-old (give or take) to finish…

Glen Moray 1975/1986 (61.2%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #35.2)

So the second Glen Moray ever bottled by the society. We are expecting rocket fuel with fruity touches, are we not… Colour: very, very pale white wine. Nose: a mix of melon, apricot, peach and guava juices, in just the right proportions. It would also seem that someone at the SWMS added a little tequila to this mix, which was not necessarily a bad idea. Joking. With water: a few fermentary notes, cider, even old chardonnay, then a return of melon, only riper. Mouth (with water): the purest expression possible of a malt whisky, in the vein of the recent youngsters but even more marked. Plums, lemon, plaster, mango, assorted leafy notes… we have the impression of being at the very heart of the barley. With water: wax bursts forth, who mentioned Clynelish barely a few minutes ago? Finish: long, with lemon coming in to bring order to it all and leaving the palate fresh as an alpine torrent. The green pepper already mentioned in the younger ones makes itself known right at the very end, accompanied by mango, just imagine that. Comments: I am convinced that forty years in bottle have refined this little monster, it is a neat example of a perfect 10 + 40, as we find at Laphroaig, or indeed at Tormore. I mean 10 years in cask plus 40 years under glass, right.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

(Thank you, Angus)

Check the index of all Glen Moray we've tasted