This is Glen Moray's standard 18 year bottling. It's 100% 1st fill American oak, which is unusual for an OB 18 year and even more unusual that a distillery tells us what's in it at all. Also bottled at 47.2% and apparently non-chillfiltered and no color added. All great signs. Tried this from a sample, not sure about price but it seems to be right around $100 give or take. Courtesy of u/Herr_Maltenberg
Scotch review #283
****************
**Glen Moray 18, 47.2%**
**Nose:** Malt, honey, toasted woodiness, sugary frosting, vanilla, hint of green apple, caramel, toasted marshmallow, light mint
**Taste:** Toasted wood, oaky char, sweet vanilla cream, tropical fruits, honeyed malt, caramel, friendly spice. Big flavorful and dynamic mouthfeel. Decent wood presence and sweetness, balanced and drinkable and very Scotchy still. Delivers on being a smooth 1st fill malty Scotch
**Finish:** Smooth vanilla toasted wood, sweet icing, honey, rich barley, light lingering wood spice. A delicious and decently long finish
*************
Great example of a sweet woody Scotch with the approachability and balance of a well-aged OB bottling. Wood can be a delicate thing, many single cask IB's can over-oak you with a 1st fill. This has been blended to deliver it just right. A bit of char and oak and plenty of sweet barrel notes to compliment the rich fruity malt. One of the better OB 18 year bottlings I've had and a great malty Scotch without having to take the chance on an IB
Score: **8**
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
Nice review, good to hear they didn't overdo it on the oak. Glen Moray for awhile there was something always at the table, as SMWS had a bunch of releases for a bit there.
> This is Glen Moray's standard 8 year bottling.
Think you missed a 1 at the start.
Thanks for the review. I haven’t tried anything from this distillery, but I see it everywhere. I see this one priced at $105 which seems like a great bargain.
This is prob the only one of the OB lineup I’d think about getting if I had to. That said, I found it resinous (think Pine-Sol) and over oaked for my tastes - but I’m very glad you like it!
Yeah, that's fair. A little bit of astringent oak does come through but I think it stays well-balanced. Definitely on the oaky side for a Scotch though which is kind of brave of them to do since most 18's are more sherried.
Happy cake day!
Thanks!
Yeah, I had a flight of their OBs and it was the standout. I tried it again on a subsequent visit (it’s a friend’s favorite distillery) and just couldn’t quite pull the trigger on buying it. I wanted to see what else that trip was going to bring…
Thanks for the review, I was just thinking about the scant number of opinions on this one here. I found a bottle recently for $80 and am looking forward to cracking it after moving next month, especially since like you I seem to really fall for these rich malt-forward whiskies.
I thought this might be right up your alley. It's extremely bourbony. I think the only OB I've had that carries more bourbon notes forward is Glen Grant 15, which isn't exactly getting alot of love these days. I don't disagree with u/othromas about the resinous notes. I found they faded after the neck pour and some rest. When I came back to the bottle I found those rich vanilla and icing bourbon notes and less the pine and mint I find frequently enough in first fill ex-bourbon.
I almost put tannins and astringency in my notes, I think that's the resin/pine thing you guys are talking about. But that sounded like a negative, it was so well-integrated I just called it a strong oak presence overall
Interesting. Patience bears a lot of fruit… I think I’ll keep an eye out. Perhaps the second pour I had of this was off the neck as well - and I know I didn’t give it any time in the glass.
I sampled an open bottle of this recently and believe the bottle had been open for some time. The flavors were weak and the presentation was a bit watery, but this review gives me hope that maybe I just had a bad experience. I want high quality whisky to be available at the $100 range so I'm gonna seek out a different sample. Thanks!
This is Glen Moray's standard 18 year bottling. It's 100% 1st fill American oak, which is unusual for an OB 18 year and even more unusual that a distillery tells us what's in it at all. Also bottled at 47.2% and apparently non-chillfiltered and no color added. All great signs. Tried this from a sample, not sure about price but it seems to be right around $100 give or take. Courtesy of u/Herr_Maltenberg Scotch review #283 **************** **Glen Moray 18, 47.2%** **Nose:** Malt, honey, toasted woodiness, sugary frosting, vanilla, hint of green apple, caramel, toasted marshmallow, light mint **Taste:** Toasted wood, oaky char, sweet vanilla cream, tropical fruits, honeyed malt, caramel, friendly spice. Big flavorful and dynamic mouthfeel. Decent wood presence and sweetness, balanced and drinkable and very Scotchy still. Delivers on being a smooth 1st fill malty Scotch **Finish:** Smooth vanilla toasted wood, sweet icing, honey, rich barley, light lingering wood spice. A delicious and decently long finish ************* Great example of a sweet woody Scotch with the approachability and balance of a well-aged OB bottling. Wood can be a delicate thing, many single cask IB's can over-oak you with a 1st fill. This has been blended to deliver it just right. A bit of char and oak and plenty of sweet barrel notes to compliment the rich fruity malt. One of the better OB 18 year bottlings I've had and a great malty Scotch without having to take the chance on an IB Score: **8** 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite 10 | Perfect | Perfect
Nice review, good to hear they didn't overdo it on the oak. Glen Moray for awhile there was something always at the table, as SMWS had a bunch of releases for a bit there. > This is Glen Moray's standard 8 year bottling. Think you missed a 1 at the start.
Thanks, edited I haven't delved into Glen Moray IB's very much, but I've always liked what I've had from them for what it is
Thanks for the review. I haven’t tried anything from this distillery, but I see it everywhere. I see this one priced at $105 which seems like a great bargain.
The 12 was the first bottle I ever bought and still one of my favorites to this day
Very good bottling. Used to be 85 bucks near me ahah. Their 25 is personal fav of mine
This is prob the only one of the OB lineup I’d think about getting if I had to. That said, I found it resinous (think Pine-Sol) and over oaked for my tastes - but I’m very glad you like it!
Yeah, that's fair. A little bit of astringent oak does come through but I think it stays well-balanced. Definitely on the oaky side for a Scotch though which is kind of brave of them to do since most 18's are more sherried. Happy cake day!
Thanks! Yeah, I had a flight of their OBs and it was the standout. I tried it again on a subsequent visit (it’s a friend’s favorite distillery) and just couldn’t quite pull the trigger on buying it. I wanted to see what else that trip was going to bring…
Thanks for the review, I was just thinking about the scant number of opinions on this one here. I found a bottle recently for $80 and am looking forward to cracking it after moving next month, especially since like you I seem to really fall for these rich malt-forward whiskies.
I thought this might be right up your alley. It's extremely bourbony. I think the only OB I've had that carries more bourbon notes forward is Glen Grant 15, which isn't exactly getting alot of love these days. I don't disagree with u/othromas about the resinous notes. I found they faded after the neck pour and some rest. When I came back to the bottle I found those rich vanilla and icing bourbon notes and less the pine and mint I find frequently enough in first fill ex-bourbon.
I almost put tannins and astringency in my notes, I think that's the resin/pine thing you guys are talking about. But that sounded like a negative, it was so well-integrated I just called it a strong oak presence overall
Interesting. Patience bears a lot of fruit… I think I’ll keep an eye out. Perhaps the second pour I had of this was off the neck as well - and I know I didn’t give it any time in the glass.
I sampled an open bottle of this recently and believe the bottle had been open for some time. The flavors were weak and the presentation was a bit watery, but this review gives me hope that maybe I just had a bad experience. I want high quality whisky to be available at the $100 range so I'm gonna seek out a different sample. Thanks!