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The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish Joins NAS Lineup

The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish is a new NAS release finished in a very unusual cask type: chardonnay wine barrels.
  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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glen-moray-classic-chardonnay-cask-finish-11-HREarlier this year, Speyside distillery Glen Moray announced the launch of a new member of its The Glen Moray Classic lineup: The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish. The whisky is a single malt made at Glen Moray’s Elgin distillery and finished in casks that once held chardonnay wine. It does not carry an age statement.
Chardonnay is a relatively unique cask finish type in Scotland – it’s more common for wine-finished Scotch whiskies to rest in barrels that held red wines or fortified wines like port and sherry. In a statement, the distillery says the chardonnay cask “adds body, sweetness and spice to the existing sweet vanilla and light oak flavors of the Elgin Classic, which results in a completely new taste sensation.”

Graham Coull, a representative from Glen Moray Distillery, was quoted as saying The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish is “a perfect balance of caramelised fruit, butterscotch, and lingering notes of toasted oak.’”

The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish is part of the Glen Moray Classic Collection, an NAS collection that includes Glen Moray Classic, Glen Moray Classic Peated Malt, and Glen Moray Classic Port Cask Finish. Glen Moray also offers a full range of age-stated releases.

So far, the release seems to be confined to the U.K., although that may chance, as Glen Moray’s products are widely exported. Pricing for The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish appears to be around 30€ for a 700ml bottle.

Official tasting notes are provided below:

The Glen Moray Classic Chardonnay Cask Finish

COLOUR: Old gold
NOSE: A fresh clean nose with apples, pear drops fresh key lime pie and bubblegum fading to a cinnamon sugar aroma.
TASTE: An elegant whisky with a soft mouthfeel and a taste befitting this meeting of Speyside and Chardonnay.
FINISH: A nutty vanilla comes bursting out with a soft cinnamon spice culminating in a gentle floral finish.

 

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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