Glen Moray Elgin Classic Peated Review

It's back off to the supermarket aisles for this review looking at the Glen Moray Elgin Classic Peated single malt which I picked up in Sainsburys for £18. Yes...you read that right, £18 for a single malt. Normally the price is an overwhelming £22, but even at this lofty sum Glen Moray are managing to undercut some big name blends such as Johnnie Walker or Monkey Shoulder and is on a par with Ballintines.

The price comes into even sharper focus when you look at other single malts, even NAS offerings such as the dreaded Glenlivet Founder's Reserve or Auchentoshan American Oak, coming in a full £10 a bottle cheaper in both instances (at least in my local Sainsburys anyhow).

Previously I had reviewed a 10 year old Glen Moray fully matured in ex-chardonnay wine casks that cost a bumper £25 and was a very drinkable dram indeed and highlighted that Glen Moray are more than capable of producing more than decent whisky at incredibly reasonable prices.

This expression is a little more traditional being ex-bourbon cask matured, albeit that it harks back to a time when Speyside whiskies would commonly have used peated barley in their production. Like the standard Elgin Classic expression this is a relatively young whisky, around 7 years old and Glen Moray are kind enough to present this information on their website.

It's bottled at 40%, has probably been chill-filtered but to my eye looks like a natural colour.

Colour:

Pale Gold

Nose:

A real grist note instantly hits the nose, then delicate vanilla custard, slightly herbal and earthy. A little rubber and just a whiff of light peat smoke.

Palate:

A very soft mouthfeel, there is almost no alcohol bite to this at all. The vanilla custard is present and correct, whipped cream, honey, malt biscuit. Hints of leather followed by wafting peat smoke.

Finish:

Short, sweet and ashen.

Overall:

Again not a complex dram from Glen Moray by any means but it is well constructed and presented with good balance between the nose and palate. You can tell this is a young whisky but that is no bad thing. It is easy to drink, very easy in fact and is a great introduction to peated whiskies as the peat just makes its presence felt but doesn't overpower the soft but fragrant malt. As a daily sipper you really couldn't go far wrong. You could definitely spend your hard earned £22 on much worse!

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