When you consider which Scotch whisky distilleries and brands have undergone a transformation over the last two decades, few could match the significant overhaul and expansion demonstrated by Glen Moray.
At the turn of the millennium, Glen Moray was a small-ish distillery with a modest brand presence as a single malt, under the ownership of Glenmorangie PLC. Most readers would today be aware that Glenmorangie is owned by LVMH and falls more in the deluxe/luxury category. However, prior to LVMH’s acquisition in the mid-2000’s, Glenmorangie PLC (previously Macdonald & Muir) – was very much in the supermarket blends game. Glen Moray, which Macdonald & Muir had owned since 1920, was a workhorse distillery for pumping out spirit that would ultimately be destined for all manner of affordable, chain-owned blends via the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury, and so on.
Glen Moray had long been known for its “Chardonnay-mellowed” releases (chiefly a 12yo expression and a no-age-statement bottling) but when LVMH decided to “premium-ise” Ardbeg and Glenmorangie, Glen Moray was suddenly the unloved sibling in the family. The distillery was sold to French company, La Martiniquaise in 2008, and we can only look back now and conclude it was the best thing to have happened to the distillery!
Under the new owners, Glen Moray has now undergone several expansion programs, adding a second mashtun, new washbacks, and new stills to increase its capacity. At the time of La Martiniquaise’s purchase in 2008, the distillery had an annual capacity of just over two million litres of absolute alcohol. Today, that figure is 8.5M litres! And, like every other self-respecting single malt brand, its number of offerings and expressions – both core-range and limited editions – have increased tremendously.
Even before the sale in 2008, Glen Moray was well known within the industry for experimenting and trialling maturation in new and exotic cask-types, particularly ex-wine casks. A well-worn rumour that did the rounds back in the day was that, prior to Dr Bill Lumsden undertaking any fancy cask treatment with Glenmorangie, he would trial the notion with Glen Moray first. Many fascinating and exotic Glen Moray casks thus found their way into Glenmorangie PLC’s warehouses, and were subsequently bottled by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, courtesy of Glenmorangie PLC’s acquisition of the SMWS. (It’s often forgotten that the Society’s Board and members voted to sell to Glenmorangie before LVMH subsequently acquired Glenmorangie!) History lessons aside, my point is that Glen Moray was always making interesting whisky.
Glen Moray has long had a steady fan-base in Australia, perhaps demonstrated by the fact that its global brand ambassador, Iain Allan, has just made his second visit out to Australia within twelve months. Glen Moray is featuring heavily in several whisky events this winter, and there will be numerous opportunities to not just explore the brand, but to discover the whisky in other forms, such as cocktails.
Iain hosted a series of tastings at Grain Bar in Sydney last week, which also incorporated some special Glen Moray cocktails created and presented by award-winning mixologist, Judith Zhu. Guests were guided through an impressive line-up of six Glen Moray single malt releases, together with three cocktails put together by Zhu. For Sydney-siders wanting to get a piece of the action, many of these Glen Moray releases will be available at Grain Bar until 16th June as part of their Fireplace Seduction experience, before then being featured as the bar’s “Spirit of the month” from 17th June – 14th July. Victorian folks can check it out at the Melbourne edition of the Whisky Show on 6th July, and Queensland whisky-lovers can join the Glen Moray action at the Brisbane Whisky Show later in the year on 14th September.
Making the Glen Moray experience all the more appealing, three new, limited-edition releases are now available in Australia, one of which is actually an Australia-only exclusive. The Rioja Cask Finish and Peated Rioja Cask Finish are both superb drams that inject additional dark fruits and even chocolate notes into the mix. However, the Australian-exclusive Shiraz Finish will get many tastebuds excited, offering up floral notes on the nose, and forest fruits on the palate – yet all melded within Glen Moray’s signature house style of sweet malt and light citrus.
Given that owning company La Martiniquaise is also behind some of the biggest selling blends in France (e.g. Label 5), it’s no surprise the company has a need for peated spirit, and thus also no surprise that Glen Moray turned its hand to making peated whisky. Heads were turned with the quality of the peated new make spirit when it first became available in a commercial “sneak peek” release for the public… further cementing the public’s realisation that peated whisky didn’t have to come from Islay! Many years later, with the spirit now matured and being released in aged expressions, Glen Moray’s peated bottlings add to a formidable portfolio.
If you’re planning a whisky trip to Scotland and plan on visiting a few distilleries up in Speyside, be sure to include Glen Moray on your itinerary. The Visitor Centre is excellent and offers some of the most captivating tours in Speyside. Check it out!
Cheers,
AD
PS…you might also like our previous articles about Glen Moray:
Glen Moray – The emerald of Elgin
PPS…and if you are planning a whisky trip to Scotland, you might like to check out:
10 things every whisky lover should know before visiting Scotland
Visiting Scotland when your partner doesn’t like whisky
The Top Six things to do in Speyside
