Two casks, two exceptional whiskys: The exclusive Private Cask Edition of the whisky distillery Glen Moray makes every whisky lover curious for more. Whisky expert Bernhard Schäfer was with us in Owen to taste our two exclusive stars from the Glen Moray Private Cask Edition.
Glen Moray: Private Cask Tasting with Bernhard Schäfer
For over 120 years, Glen Moray has been pursuing the question of how different casks affect the aroma of its own whiskys - these typical, soft and fruity single malts from Speyside.
The Glen Moray distillery itself is picturesquely located in the town of Elgin in Scotland, the heart of the legendary Speyside. More than 180,000 barrels are stored in their traditional warehouses, including a sheer overwhelming number of alternative casks in addition to the obligatory used bourbon barrels. After all, the Glen Moray team does not bear the nickname "Experts in Cask Exploration" without reason: experimenting with different types of wood and used casks is rather in the DNA of the distillery. After all, they began maturing whisky in different casks as early as the 1890s.
The exclusive Glen Moray Private Cask Edition is the best proof of this outstanding expertise. The whiskys in this series are selected with great care and brought together under three golden rules:
- Small Batch: Only a limited number of casks may be used.
- Natural Color: The whiskey retains its natural color.
- Cask Strength: The whisky retains its natural cask strength.
We are therefore particularly proud to be able to offer two whiskys from this edition ourselves, whose high quality was once again confirmed to us by whiskey expert Bernhard Schäfer at our tasting in Owen.
He himself is in great demand as a speaker and author, as a professional taster and juror at national and international spirits competitions and was awarded as Master of the Quaich for his wide knowledge and experience. This makes him undisputedly one of the most respected whiskey experts in Germany.
Together we tasted our own two whiskys from the Private Cask Edition, which stand out from each other due to their respective exclusive finishes.
1. Madeira Finish
There's a bit of a story that this whiskey continues to tell about Madeira: Madeira is a rustic sweet wine traditionally made from white grapes, often with green herbal notes. We find the scent of green walnuts and freshly cut apple, plus a hint of laurel. On the palate, the whiskey is sweetish, but also noticeably more tart than its companion from the sherry cask. After some time, however, it unfolds a creamy fruit, flavors of dark chocolate and dark cocoa. The finish is wonderfully warm and long, without strong tannins and with restrained wood notes. The cask strength is 56.16% by volume.
» An honest whisky and a whisky with rarity value, which tastes better and better the longer I taste it. «
2. PX Sherry Cask Finish
The whisky shimmers in reddish amber gold. It comes at a cask strength of over 58% by volume, which is what you get on the nose when it first starts. As soon as the whisky opens up a bit, soft wood notes unfold, along with a fruity and spicy aroma. On the palate we discover stone fruit such as plum and damson and a touch of fig. In addition, the slightly tart sweetness of almond mousse. In the mouth, the whiskey then really spreads, with a warm and soft, perfectly balanced character. The typical sherry sweetness is very elegantly integrated, so that the character of the whiskey is not initially covered by it. If you give it a little time, however, a creamy sweetness unfolds.
» A surprising whisky in which the typical PX sherry aroma does not overpower the whisky, but rounds it off neatly. «
Slàinte!
Our tasting proved to be a successful and enjoyable afternoon, during which we exchanged views with Mr. Schäfer not only about the whiskys themselves, but also about the traditional distillery Glen Moray! We would like to thank him again for his time and say until next time!
But why don't you convince yourself of the quality of the Glen Moray range!
