Glen Moray Elgin Heritage 12 Year

For as much fun as I have talking and writing about whisky, sometimes I don't want to think. I spend all day at work thinking. I have a wife, and I'm often thinking about her. How's she doing? What would make her happy? I have two young kids, and I'm thinking about them pretty much constantly. What's best for them? How are my actions affecting them? Am I being a decent father? I read a lot of books and when I read I'm thinking. What does this or that mean? What would I do if I were in this character's situation. Sometimes, for as much as I love interesting complex whiskies, I don't want an interesting and complex whisky. Sometimes, I want something like this. The Glen Moray Elgin Heritage 12 Year was an impulse buy where it was $3 off and there was a $5 coupon stuck to the bottle so I figured that 8$ off a $41 aged scotch wasn't something I could pass up. I likely wouldn't have bought this at full price, if only because tacking another $10 onto $41 gets me the Highland Park 12 when it's on sale. But $33 seemed like I couldn't lose. Even if I ended up having to use this as a mixer. On the bottle it says that this was aged in American Oak and tastes of vanilla and berries, and you get pretty much that. It's watery of course, but isn't that usually a given if you're used to higher proofs and you see 40%? The nose and palate are the same, vanilla and berry and a little bit of taffy, so it's pleasant. Think fruity taffy filling in between layers of a vanilla birthday cake; add to that a little bit of oak astringency on the finish, which is oddly pleasant as well, and what you have here, is a decent tasting pour that you don't have to put much thought into. And isn't that what we all sometimes need at the end of a long day? If I find this for 33$ again, I might actually pick it up again. But $41 could be pushing it.

Nose: Light, sweet and floral. Palate: The same theme from the nose continues on the palate. This whisky has a nice light honeyed cereal flavour that is very approachable and pleasant on the tongue. Not a whole lot of complexity here but nothing off putting either. Finish: Medium length, faint canned peach sweetness. Honestly considering the price there is nothing wrong with this Speyside whisky if you're looking for some light easy drinking. However for roughly the same price I'd take an Aberfeldy 12 or Glenfiddich 12 over this 12 year old Glen Moray.

This whiskey had an ok nose, honey, vanilla, and a little citrus. The palate was flat... like the few notes that I encountered on the nose just disappeared, and the finish is light and short. The 40% ABV is clearly evident, as my bottle tasted like it had a few extra ounces of water... diluted.

Nose : Vanilla stands out, followed by floral and fruity (especially plum) elements. Taste : Pretty classic. Mellow, a bit of fruit and spice. Finish : Quite alcoholy, with a bit of vanilla. Disappointing finish. Not bad for an entry-level scotch, but there is much better fir the same price.

Nose: vanilla sweetness, citrus (orange peel), floral. Warming spices Slight ethanol. Palate: vanilla sweetness, very friendly first, then baking spices from late palate to mid finish. Finish: long. Dry, nuts. Then herbal/bitter quality remains long. After sime sips more coffee-ish.

Unbelievably sweet when neat, like cream soda. I usually drink scotch neat or with a few drops of water, but could not get into this one. I didn’t mind it on the rocks with a big splash of Topo Chico. I definitely won’t buy again, but if you like scotch and soda it’s not bad.