Glen Moray has distilled single malt on the banks of the River Lossie in Elgin since 1897, quietly and without fanfare. It is the sort of distillery whose reputation is built on competence rather than theatre, and the 25 Year Old is a faithful embodiment of that ethos — old whisky presented without shouting about it.
Bottled at 43% ABV, the 25 Year has passed a full quarter century in oak, the greater part of its life in refill casks that allow the distillery character to persist rather than be swamped by wood. The nose opens on beeswax and dried apricot, with that dignified furniture-polish note that old Speysiders often acquire — the aroma of a well-kept library rather than a sawmill.
The palate is gentle and settled, as one would expect of whisky this age at a moderate strength. Toffee, stewed orchard fruit and honeyed malt take the lead, with a faint wisp of ginger and sandalwood. There is nothing hurried here. The finish is long without being assertive, leaving waxy sweetness and dried citrus peel on the tongue.
Under Graham Coull's long stewardship and then under master distiller Iain Allan, Glen Moray has quietly released a series of long-aged expressions without inflating the price beyond reason. The 25 Year Old is not a collector's bauble; it is a drinker's whisky, meant to be poured and enjoyed rather than shelved. That, one suspects, is precisely how the Elgin men would have it.
