Glen Moray releases Mastery blend

Bardinet has released a new blended Glen Moray, celebrating the work of master distiller Graham Coull and his predecessors. Mastery is a blend of five vintages.

Three of the five vintages used were laid down by Graham's Glen Moray forefathers, Robert Brown (manager from 1959-1987) and Edwin Dodson (manager from 1987-2005). Two of Graham's own vintages are in there too, as well as evidence of techniques first employed by Glen Moray's original pioneers, James Haddow (manager from 1913-1927) and his son, Alexander Haddow (manager from 1927 -1959).

Graham Coull experimented using whisky matured in different fortified wine casks (sherry, madeira and port) to form the backbone of the 120th Anniversary release.

Graham Coull says: "The Madeira casks that we’ve chosen to form the heart of the whisky relate back to the genuine traditions of Glen Moray experimenting with different, innovative techniques in maturation. It’s me putting a twist on the spirit that was made by previous generations of master distillers."

"I wanted to bring in something from 1978, some of the oldest whisky in the warehouses, that represented whisky made by Robert Brown, the 3rd generation of master distiller, who was at the helm of Glen Moray from 1959 until 1987 as well as casks filled in the 80's and 90's by my predecessor, Ed Dodson. We’ve intertwined these with whisky that has spent its full term in first-fill sherry casks and also a proportion that has been finished in port, to develop the layers of complexity in the overall bottling. The port finished whisky brings a little lightness, which we felt perfectly balances the more robust flavours of the sherry and madeira casks in the blend."

The release is presented in individually numbered 70/75cl decanters, inside a leather box, limited to 1000 bottles. It is available at an RRP of £800 and at 52.3% ABV from Gordon & Macphail, The Dufftown Whisky Shop, Master of Malt, Whisky Exchange, Scotch Whisky Experience on the Royal Mile and the Glen Moray Distillery.

7 July 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor