Review #938 - SMWS 35.228 'Cigar Juice' - Glen Moray 31 Year
There are certain distilleries which the Scotch Malt Whisky Society puts out in higher volumes than others; Glen Moray is one of them. At the time of writing, there have been more than 400 single casks bottled from this distillery, which places it among the top few most common from SMWS alongside others like Highland Park, Laphroaig, Linkwood, and Caol Ila.
Because there's a high volume of casks from this distillery, we end up seeing a decent number of well-aged releases from it; paired with the fact that it isn't necessarily the most in-demand distillery from SMWS, that means it's possible to find old Glen Morays for prices that are reasonable in the scheme of well-aged whisky.
Today we're reviewing a single cask that fits that description: this 31 year old Glen Moray had an original retail price of $410, but we were able to pick it up for just about $300 at auction in the past couple of years. That isn't cheap, of course, but for a cask strength 30+ year old whisky which was distilled about 40 years ago, that seems more reasonable than most options to us.
This Speyside single malt first spent 28 years maturing in an ex-bourbon hogshead. After that, the Society moved it into a first fill Oloroso sherry cask for a finishing period of about 3 years. We have a lovely low natural cask strength of 48.9% ABV, and as with all SMWS whiskies, this is not chill filtered, and there's no added caramel coloring.
SMWS 35.228 'Cigar Juice' - Glen Moray 31 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 410 (2019)
Age Statement: 31 Years
Strength: 48.9% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon hogshead, finished in a first fill Oloroso sherry hogshead
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled September 18, 1987; 174 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 4 months; bottles at 70%, 50%, and 30% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Strong old oak, both sweet and drying; sweet vanilla, fresh tobacco, and leather books. Yeah, it smells quite old - we get polished antique furniture wood, followed by brighter sweetness from spun sugar and a hint of chocolate. Stewed fruits like raisin, prune, and some berries build; we also find accents of candied pecan and bitter espresso. Great nose, quite complex.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. It's intense and oaky, lots of dark tannic oak and plenty of syrupy dark fruits like raisin and medjool dates. Lighter fruits like peaches, even tinned peach, as well as cherries and raspberry candies popped up too. Dark chocolate, fresh lumber, polished wood, and oversweet watermelon were accents; the texture is very oily.
Finish: Oak grows even more intense, adding both sweet old oak and some drying notes like tobacco, shoe polish, wood char, and tannic spice. Brown sugar, apricots, and grilled peach give way to plums, pomegranate, and oily raisin. There's a decent sherry influence now, and this is a medium-long finish.
Final Note: This is such a good old sherried whisky - lots of strong oak showing off that age, but there are so many sweet notes to balance out the drying side. Tobacco, leather, waves of red fruit and purple fruit; good nuance too with stone fruit and chocolate accents. The texture is quite good for this strength too - we suspect that the long time in oak has allowed more of those wood oils to enter the spirit.
Value is below average overall, but considering the category of old whiskies, this is one of the better value bottles we've tried. If you're looking for a nice whisky to splurge on, something like this could be a good option; mileage will vary as this is a single cask, but most of the old Glen Morays that we've tried, especially those in sherry, have been very good.
Our Rating: 9.2 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 4.98
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
