Glen Moray has been involved in an interesting cask sharing project: they lend out whisky casks to the Thistly Cross craft cider company who use it to finish one of their ciders. When the cask are returned, they they are used to finish whisky again.
This led to the Glen Moray Cider Cask Project, a new release in their Curiosity range. I already tried a preliminary Glen Moray 2006 Cider Cask Finish which was a distillery exclusive release.
After the release, the Scotch Whisky Association introduced stricter rules for whisky finishing, only allowing certain types of casks. This means the Cider Cask is now illegal and cannot be repeated.
Glen Moray Cider Cask Project
(46,3%, OB 2018, 2000 btl.)
Nose: as nice as I remembered. There’s this distinctive combination of candy floss / marshmallow and fresh green apples which make it fresh and summery. Hints of Calvados and cider indeed. Hints of baking spice (ginger, nutmeg) and a light floral and almost vinegary touch (nicer than it sounds).
Mouth: light and sherbety, on limes, apples and a little toffee. Vanilla custard. Slightly fizzy with a slight bitter and weirdly chalky edge. Pencil shavings underneath.
Finish: medium, sweet with lemons, apples and vanilla.
A slightly curious dram, with nice apple flavours throughout but never exaggerated. As an experiment I would certainly go on with it, although a little tweaking would be welcome. Only in the UK, in fact I can only find it at The Whisky Exchange.
Score: 85/100