Glen Moray’s 120th anniversary in pictures

SB joined a team of international journalists who travelled to Speyside to celebrate the 120th anniversary of La Martiniquaise-owned single malt Scotch whisky Glen Moray last week. The group stayed at the iconic – and newly painted – Craigellachie Hotel.

The group was hosted by Graham Coull (right), master distiller for Glen Moray, along with Ed Dodson (left), previous master distiller for Glen Moray who returned to the distillery for the special occasion. Coull succeeded Dodson on his retirement in 2005. Dodson had acted as master distiller for Glen Moray since 1987.

After taking a look at the malt bins – the oldest equipment in the distillery that dates back to the 1960s – visitors observed Glen Moray’s malt mill. The distillery now gets through 44 tonnes of malt a day – 10 lorry-loads a week – following rapid expansion over the last 15 years.

As part of Glen Moray’s expansion, a new mash tun was installed, taking its total to two. The distillery runs four mashes per day. The group then headed outside to see seven pairs of external washbacks in total.

Back inside and Coull explained the innovative new still system at Glen Moray. The stills’ condensers work to produce a heat exchange, which saves 30% of energy. While the majority of distilleries place spirit still and wash stills in the same room, Glen Moray separated the processes as part of its expansion. “We have built into the distillery the capability to expand to nine million litres,” said Coull. The picture above shows the site’s wash stills.

In another room sits the distillery’s spirit stills – four of which used to be wash stills. In total, Glen Moray has three wash stills and six spirit stills.

Journalists were then invited to fill their own barrels of new make spirit – sadly, not to keep. Some evidently had more success than others…

The commemorative barrels will now quietly mature in Glen Moray’s on-site warehouses.

Later than evening, drinks writers, presenters and consultants Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley demonstrated how different expressions of Glen Moray can be used to make delicious Old Fashioneds, giving guests a crash course on how to make their own. 

Day two of the trip saw guests explore Glen Moray’s warehouses and learn about the distillery’s innovative wood programme.

In total, Glen Moray houses about 100,000 casks of whisky. Two additional warehouses were built on the site as part of its expansion in 2013, considerably increasing maturation capacity.

A highlight of the trip was a deconstructed tasting of Glen Moray Mastery – a limited edition single malt launched to mark the distillery’s 120th anniversary. The whisky was created by Coull to pay homage to the five master distillers throughout Glen Moray’s history. 

“My question was, how do I capture Glen Moray’s history and craftsmanship in one bottle?” said Coull. “I had an infinite choice of casks to use, and I wanted to define what makes Glen Moray different.” The final whisky is comprised of five casks: 1994 Madeira, which formed the “backbone” of the whisky; 1978 Bourbon; 1999 second fill Sherry; 1988 Port; and 2001 Madeira.

During a Q&A session with Coull and Dodson, guests tried some of Glen Moray’s more experimental offerings, including a whisky aged in Cabernet Sauvignon and agricole rhum casks. 

The round off celebrations, a jovial Burns supper with a dramatic Address to a Haggis. Merriment continued throughout the evening with folk music, bagpipes, Highland dancing and….

… Balloon popping. A very happy birthday Glen Moray!