Single Cask Nation Glen Moray 12yo...

Single Cask Nation Glen Moray 12yo (54.7%): Today I have two fairly recent releases of Single Cask Nation bottlings on my desk... I will start with the Glen Moray. It is a double matured whisky rather than a finished one like the Arran 12yo they released some years ago. After being distilled in June 2004 the whisky spent first six years in first fill bourbon barrels and then transferred into a single ex-madeira cask for another six years. It is bottled in September 2016 at cask strength. The cask was numbered as #9943 and yielded 312 bottles.

Color: Dark amber, chestnut honey.

Nose: Dried cranberries, cherry soda and molasses. Black currant jam and black mulberries. So juicy and tart I could possibly list here all the black and red berries and stone fruits I know of... You get the idea... A few drops of water changes the course a little, we have additions now: Carrot cake, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg dustings on a milky espresso drink.

Palate: Caramel chocolate, sea salted caramels and ginger molasses cookies. Pretty hot and bitter on the palate without adding water. A few drops solve the problem: Dried fruit cake, lemon juice and unsweetened and over brewed green tea. Lemongrass and bitter greens. Some garden soil, green sour worms and sumac. Funny I was so prepared for a sweeter palate in spite of the tartness on the nose but not at all... It's mostly still tart, vegetal and bittersweet.

Finish: Short with lemon juice, pomegranate seeds and green tea. Even more bitter and quite dry finish.

Overall: I like whiskies generally on the savory side even if they are finished in sweet and/or fortified wine casks and this one is not an exception. Although I am quite happy with what I have in my glass I have to admit that it can be an odd experience for a less experienced palate. If I was "the man" I probably would have bottled this cask a little earlier but who cares..? What I can do and will do now is to sit down, stretch my legs and enjoy what I have left in my glass. It's a pretty unique dram and I am glad that I have a full bottle of it. Well, almost full...

Oh, wait..! For those who still didn't hear what Single Cask Nation is up to lately, there are news for you: First, a new retail range is announced and the bottles are about tho hit the shelves in less than a month... Well, SCN is not our little secret anymore as members but I am glad that we will have a totally separate line-up to be excited for. And on top of that Joshua and Jason launched a podcast loaded with high level whisky geekery and a fair load of humor called One Nation under Whisky. If you are at a level of your whisky enthusiasm where you read reviews online like you are doing right now you definitely should be listening to them. It is the #trypod month after all...

Price: $100

86/100