Glen Moray

Glen Moray is a Scotch whisky distillery on the outskirts of Elgin in Morayshire. It stands on the banks of the River Lossie, in the famous Speyside region.

Since 2008, Glen Moray has been operated by French beverages firm La Martiniquaise.

The distillery was an early pioneer in wine cask finishing.  

Glen Moray produces a classic Speyside single malt Scotch. The spirit is fresh, sweet and fruity.

Wine finishes provide additional layers of complex flavours to each bottling. 

Glen Moray is capable of producing around 5,700,000 litres of spirit in a year. 

The distillery predominantly uses unpeated barley for a smoke-free flavour profile. However, a peated version has been produced since 2014. 

Fermentation runs for around 60 hours to encourage fruity esters in the wash.

The distillery is equipped with six pear-shaped pot stills. Shell and tube condensers are mounted on the outside of the still-house to aid the cooling of the spirit vapours.

Spirit is filled into a selection of different casks before being transferred to the warehouse for maturation. Ex-bourbon barrels are the most common but a wide range of wine casks are used for finishing. Glen Moray utilises both dunnage and palletised warehouses. 

Glen Moray was the first Scottish distillery to experiment with white wine casks. In 1999, the brand produced Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc cask finishes. Since then, the practice has become commonplace across the industry.

The current core range consists of the Classic Collection, the Heritage Collection and the Curiosity Collection. The Classic Collection features the standard Classic bottling and a Peated version alongside Port, Chardonnay, Sherry and Sauvignon cask finishes. The Heritage Collection features 10, 12, 15, 18 and 21-year-old malts. The Curiosity Collection, meanwhile, showcases experimental bottlings such as 2018’s Rhum Agricole finish.

Glen Moray has contributed spirit to several blended Scotch brands, including Highland Queen, Glen Turner and Label 5. 

The Elgin West Brewery was established in 1830, on the former site of Elgin’s gallows. In 1897, Robert Thorne & Sons converted the brewery into the Glen Moray distillery and began to produce whisky. 

Thorne & Sons also owned Aberlour distillery. When a fire almost destroyed Aberlour, the company invested heavily in its refurbishment. That left little resource for Glen Moray and the distillery closed in 1910.

All remained silent until 1920 when the distillery was taken over by Glenmorangie owner, Macdonald & Muir. Macdonald & Muir later changed its name to Glenmorangie plc.

In the late ‘90s, the owners began to experiment with wine cask finishes. Glen Moray was the first in Scotland to trial white wine casks on Scotch whisky.

Glenmorangie was purchased by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy in 2004. Within four years, Glen Moray had been sold to La Martiniquaise.

The new owner continued to use wine cask finishes to enhance the flavour profile of the malt. In 2014, they relaunched the brand with the introduction of the Classic Collection. This was followed in 2016 by the Heritage Collection and, in 2018, by the Curiosity Collection.

Under Glenmorangie, Glen Moray was priced as a low budget single malt and its reputation suffered. However, the new owners have gone a long way to restoring the brand’s reputation. Their selection of interesting yet affordable whiskies has proved popular with whisky drinkers both in the UK and further afield.