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SMWS 35.34 - Moroccan tea-room masculinity

Average score from 2 reviews and 2 ratings 95

SMWS 35.34 - Moroccan tea-room masculinity

Product details

  • Brand: Glen Moray
  • Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
  • ABV: 56.6%
  • Age: 13 year old

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@jiminorris
SMWS 35.34 - Moroccan tea-room masculinity

A 13 year old Glen Moray from a "designer" new charred oak cask. It is a dark reddy-gold in colour and has a rather low viscosity in the glass.

Without water, there is a lot of alcohol on the nose. So much that I almost recoiled on the first breath, although this is to be expected at 55%ABV. There are aromas of nuts (unsalted peanuts?), soft toffee and molasses. There is a dry woodiness with undertones of spices; pepper and corriander seed, perhaps. I smell the (vanilla ice cream/lemonade) ice cream float I made at Christmas as a child along with clotted cream and Pepsi Raw.

With the addition of water, it softens up becoming much more floral and fruity. There is still cream on the nose, but there is also 'silver fox' shisha (apple, liquorice, smoke and tobacco) with sandlewood and cola nut. Milk chocolate and Turkish delight (rosewater) linger at the end.

There is a strong sweetness on the palate before the flavours come through, but when they do there are loads of them. Black coffee with lots of sugar and a heavy oak are the main players with ash and treacle on the side. Garam masala and salt beef are hiding in the back with floral perfume, flour and a hint of cloves. There is pipe tobacco and leather with a little pepper and all of this is finished off with a long lemon drizzle cake and single cream left behind.

On reduction, the citrus notes become less sharp and fade into apples and clementines. The dryness remains along with the wood and cloves, but there are also grapes (chardonnay wine?), candied peanuts and butterscotch.

Before reducing with water, it is very fluid, initially causing a coldness in the mouth which warms through and leaves behind a dry woody feeling with a long buttery, lemony flavour. The finish is very, very long. Adding water removes the heat changes in the mouth, but the mouth and finish are much the same.

In essence, this is the most complex and impressive Glen Moray I have ever experienced and only hope that The Society does more like this in future. One bottle will never be enough.

Oh and I forgot to add... I do add water for review purposes, but I don't actually recommend it for this one. It somewhat mutes the flavour.

@Speysider

The most amazing nose, with a full body and doesn't let you down on the palate. A truly wonderful offering from this distillery and unlike anything I've tasted from Glen Moray before.

This is an exciting cask - a newly made 'designer' cask. Untouched by any other spitit (a rarity and a real treat).

The SMWS Tasting Panel wrote:

We found this nose interesting and unusual, doubtless due to the new wood. Echoes of oak (a carpenter’s workshop, tea boxes, vanilla) complemented the rich toffee, chocolate and raisins; but then something more airy arrived – American cream soda, coca-cola, bubble-gum and peppermint. The unreduced palate started fruity and floral, but developed a masculine side (smoke, ash, leather and tobacco). The reduced nose, with perfumed smoke, sandalwood and carpets, suggested Moroccan tea-rooms to someone who knew about such things. The palate became elegantly sweet and teasing, but with clove and cigar-box boldness. The distillery was in the Glenmorangie group until recently.

Drinking tip: To enjoy while the shades of evening gather; maybe on a carpet

It would help if you told us what is written on the bottle, or the flavours you've detected yourself.

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