I was very generously invited onto the latest Glen Moray tweet tasting. As usual if you weren’t involved or didn’t see the treading tweets last night then you can use the hashtag #Glenmoray to see what the collection of tasters thought of the 4 whiskies on offer.

The first one was a whisky I have been meaning to buy for a while after grabbing the Cider cask finish on Amazon. At this stage I would like to that product but its gone having been sold out and probably never to be repeated. What with the Scotch Whisky Association deciding Cider casks aren’t traditional enough and all its not going to reappear anytime soon.

What is Rhum Agricole though? I have to admit I did require Google to resolve this for me. I initially just thought it was a type of Rum which while true doesn’t really give a clear enough picture. This type of Rum is made with fresh sugar juice from sugar beets and comes from territories once held by the French. Rum is generally made from molasses which is a thick sticky byproduct of making sugar. Rewind back to 1811 when the French started to grow sugar beet just in time for a global drop in sugar prices. The prices were too low to support the industry so a new use was required. Enter Rum production using fresh juice rather than a sticky byproduct and we have the origins of Rhum Agricole.

This fundamental difference in the raw ingredients means the spirit has a fruitier profile and of course grassier. Those characteristics you would hope translate into the finished whisky so lets carry on and open the sample bottle.

The Dram

The Rhum Cask is a non age stated whisky on the label although we do know from interviews done at release the whisky spent 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in AOC Rhum barrels. Those barrels were used for between 10 and 18 years to age Rhum from the St James Distillery which is owned by La Martiniquaise the french drinks company. La Martiniquaise also own a number of distilleries in Scotland including….Glen Moray.

The barrels were said to be badly weather beaten but the contents were still full of strong Rhum notes when opened up when they arrived. The resulting release for the Curiosity collection reaped 3060 bottles at 46.3% ABV and still available for around £55. The colour is natural and there is not chill-filtering on these bottles either.

Tasting Notes

Colour – pale yellow

Nose – Really heavy and thick orchard fruit notes and cracked pepper galore. There is a herbal grassy note as well like the description of Rhum would suggest. Some whiskies can be hard to nose but this is very smelly (in a good way)

Palate – The texture is wonderfully thick and prickles with spices and more grass notes as well as light brown sugar. Banana foam sweets and citric lemon mingle with honey as the original maturation and the finish combine notes.

Finish – The finish is indeed long and spicy with balance from brown sugar.

Final Thoughts

This was the first whisky out the gate and the one I was most intrigued by and I wasn’t disappointed. The price is right, the presentation is right and the flavours are interesting, tasty and moreish. Glen Moray Curiosity has made me curious to try more from their portfolio.

I can only apologise for that last line I am off to vomit now #cringe