Bought: Morrisons, 5th June 2015
Ratings:
87.5/100 – Whisky Bible 2016
80.4/100 – Whiskybase (average from 12 member votes)
As you can see from the photo below I really like the new Glen Moray ‘Peated’ – or do I? Perhaps I just love the price. At a pocket-friendly £20 (when on offer) it’s one of the cheapest single malts you can buy. But if it were rubbish I wouldn’t go back for more. Glen Moray are masters at filling that budget whisky gap slightly below the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve and Glenfiddich 12yo. The excellent Aberlour 10yo can sometimes drop to £20 but where are the Islay malts?! Where is that hit of peat at a budget price?! Glen Moray spotted the gap in the market and decided to fill it.
When I first bought the Glen Moray ‘Peated’ a few months ago it was scoring over 82/100 on Whiskybase. Now more votes are in the score is starting to level off. But over 80 is excellent, especially when you look at the Glen Moray ‘Classic’ which scores 77/100 (from 8 member votes). The ‘Peated’ is certainly not an Islay but that shot of peat makes it more interesting than the ‘Classic’ Glen Moray.
If you see the Glen Moray ‘Peated’ on offer for £20 or less I’d recommend getting it. As a budget whisky I’d say it was in my top 3 along with the Aberlour 10yo and ASDA ‘Extra Special Islay Malt’. Once you’re up at the heady-heights of £25 it’s a whole new ball game with the likes of the Highland Park 12yo in there but that’s a different story. The fact I bought a second bottle of this Glen Moray without thinking “I should save my £20 and put it towards an Ardbeg 10yo” speaks volumes for how good this budget whisky is. Or perhaps it just confirms what a miser I am!
Update (1/1/16) – Jim Murray has added the ‘Peated’ to his Whisky Bible 2016 and giving it a fantastic score of 87.5/100, which equates to “very good to excellent whisky definitely worth buying”. To be fair to the ‘Classic’ he only scores it one point less but I’m glad such an experienced taster agrees with me about the quality of the Glen Moray Peated. 🙂
Whisky Den 