Glen Moray Tweet Tastings

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Time for another TweetTasting, and one which has become a bit of a special, annual event on Twitter for us whisky geeks. Four 100 mL Glen Moray samples arrived from Steve at The Whisky Wire with all participants invited to share thoughts on the drams during the night. 


 The presentation of the drams has to be commended, with the sample size and the packaging all of the highest quality. Well done Glen Moray, it is very much appreciated!

 So, on to the whisky..

 Rhum Agricole
3060 of these bottles have been produced. The Rhum Agricole Cask Finish Project is  finished in cane rum barrels from Martinique. 

 Age - NAS

ABV - 46.3%

 Nose - On the nose the Rhum Agricole initially offers up bananas and some coconut in the form of suntan lotion. Very buttery, deep flavoured rum and raisin ice cream. A larger sniff releases some menthol and eucalyptus notes too.

 Taste - The Rhum Agricole in the mouth is warming and spicy on the arrival. Loads of tropical fruits as it passes. Melon, papaya, watermelon. Some green woody, sappy notes too. The finish has slight oaky spice and a bit of a soapy hint to it. If there was a whisky to sip on a deserted Caribbean beach somewhere, this would be it.
🍈
Portwood Finish
This whisky was initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in ex-port casks.

 Age - 21 Years old
ABV - 46.3%

 Nose - Very floral and perfumed. Lot of drying fruits, cranberries, raspberries  and blackberries. Glace cherries, sticky iced buns and some sort of magic tree air freshener I used to have in my first car back in '95.

 Taste -Jammy. Cranberry juice and some cinnamon chewing gum. Very drying. As it leaves there is loads more glace cherries. An Empire Biscuit (are we still allowed to say that?). A fruity wee number which is all about drying fruits.

 Edinburgh Rugby Edition
312 bottles  expression have been produced with Edinburgh Rugby teammates John Barclay, Scotland Rugby Captain and Damien Hoyland selecting the Chardonnay cask that the spirit had spent 14 years maturing in.

 Age - 14 Years old
ABV - 52.8%

 Nose - Very earthy, mineral heavy. Pultney esque even. Not very expressive on the nose neat but water releases vanilla fudge and some strawberry Toffos type fruity notes.

 Taste - Medium mouthfeel, bit nippy, green apple skin, fizzy lemon and limes with a twist of pepper and maybe even a hint of smoke in there too. The finish has a hint of that dry Chardonnay along with green grape skins and Granny Smiths. Nothing jumps out at me from this dram. All a bit ordinary and too green in terms of taste. Sorry..

 Peated Gamay Cask
A distillery exclusive peated whisky, matured in a Gamay wine cask. Gamay is a light-bodied red wine that’s similar in taste to Pinot Noir apparantly. 

 Age - 5 Years old
ABV - 60.4%

 Nose -Peat and a lot of it. Silage (dung even??), disinfectant, fertiliser, grain and hay. Farmyard in a glass. All with a sweet red fruit, winey background. Longer it sits the more menthol comes out. Bit bonkers this one.

 Taste -Not as peated as I'd expected from the nose. Very medicinal/disinfectant like. Smoked kippers!! Burnt hay, creosote, ashy, turns sweeter into the finish. Jam on burnt toast and slightly dry. Get a nice hint of toasted teacakes right at the end.
Im afraid I didn't get on with this one. The medicinal notes overpowered everything. Loads of other tasters seemed to love it though so shows you what I know.

 Overall a very enjoyable evening. In order of preference, the Portwood and Rhum were on an even footing for me, then the Rugby Edition. Gamay cask nope, sorry.

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