Glen Moray SMWS 35.204 “A squirrel’s dream”

Thanks to /u/xreekinghavocx for pouring me a dram of this whisky.

The best part about drinking Glen Moray is I keep getting drunker, and they keep coming out.

Wait, that doesn’t have the same horrible connotation that the original did. Not to mention I’m pretty sure that I’m not half as pretty as McConaughey to pull off the implied statutory rape, so maybe it’s better I don’t say it that way. 80s movies really show how bad things used to be.

Suffice to say, I enjoy drinking Glen Moray, if only for their abundance, their quality, and seemingly the uniqueness of different ones.

Take the new one today, called Glen Moray SMWS 35.204 “A squirrel’s dream”. Well they don’t put the name of the distillery, but I do, so fuck them and fuck you too.

Wait, that didn’t sound like Eminem and I am not a 100th of the wordsmith that he is, so I don’t think I can pull that off.

What would squirrel dream about? I’m thinking nuts, though my sense of humour would mean I’m a dick for saying that. Shame on them for not calling it a squirrel’s dram, because the visual of that is cute as hell.

This is aged for an amount of time equal to less than 16 years in an ex-Oloroso cask before being finished for the 16th logarithm of pi in mecha-days (to be defined later) in a new oak puncheon.

Let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Price: Sold out

Region: Speyside

Date Distilled: May 17, 2001

Age: 16 years old

Cask Type: New Oak Puncheon

Outturn: 522 bottles

Abv: 58.9%

Colour: 7.5YR 5/10

Nose: Caramel, cherry, nutmeg, orange juice, macadamia

Caramel and cherry. Well, squirrels are dreaming about fruit and sugar. Aren’t we all? I say that as I look down and see a gut I’m working on, so yes, I’ll force that belief onto you, the reader.

Water brings out more spice and orange, and some macadamia notes. Really nice nuttiness and I’m guessing that’s actually the squirrel origin.

Taste: Cherry, oak, anise, papaya, butter, honey, raisin

More cherry. Come to think of it, the squirrels fought the crows for cherries. And if you think that makes me sound like a country bumpkin, you need to meet more country bumpkins.

A bit all over the place/tons of flavours going on here. Buttery, fruity, and generally a ton of sherry notes. The new oak is adding some wood to balance that, but frankly, the sherry cask is winning, pure and simple.

Finish: Brown butter, anise, char, oak, cereal

You know, I seem to remember the crows and squirrels fighting over the benefits of brown butter when I was growing up, though that may have been the local LSD dealer giving me free cookies causing that.

More of the new oak here. It’s completely different than the rest, with just a bit of anise reminding you of the Oloroso influence.

Conclusion: Sherry bomb. Pure and simple. Well, it used to be. I’ve said before, and I’ll say again: Sherry bombs were something we took for granted. And now they are all gone for cheap prices. So on a nostalgia level and on an “I like Sherry bombs and I cannot lie, you other…” wait, I’m Caucasian, I don’t think brothers has the correct connotation for me to write…

Jokes aside, the taste and nose were that big sherry flavour factory without taking too much away. And I do enjoy those drams when they are big.

The finish? That “new oak” contribution? Completely left the field. Am I nuts for thinking that? Well, I guess I’m not a squirrel’s dram.

If you enjoy sherry bombs and love that aspect of whisky, this is a no-brainer. If you love them for the finish then no, it’s not going to give you what you want. If you’re not like me and can be okay with changes between what you taste and the aftertaste, this is perfect for you.

79/100

Scotch review #1006, Speyside review #276, Whisky Network review #1571