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23rd December 2025 |
Some Glen
Moray whisky recommendations from me and
Glen Moray shares three ‘wise gems’ of
whisky wisdom on how to gift, serve and
wrap a single malt this season.
 Glen Moray Speyside single malt Scotch
whisky has shared three 'Wise Gems’ of
whisky wisdom on how to gift, serve and
wrap a single malt this festive season.
Light, smooth and fruity, Glen Moray
Classic is the quintessential Speyside
single malt. It's notes of gentle spice
and malt-toffee sweetness make it a
perfect winter favourite to share with
friends and family. It also makes a
welcome Christmas gift, ideal for whisky
lovers and those just beginning their
journey into the world of Scottish malt
whisky. So, with party season looming,
the Glen Moray experts share their tips
on how to gift, serve and wrap your
single malt during the season.
Iain Allan, Global Brand Ambassador,
Glen Moray commented on picking the
perfect single malt gift: "Choosing a
whisky for a friend or loved one, either
to serve or gift, can be daunting if you
haven’t tried it first and aren’t
familiar with whisky yourself. There are
however a few simple tips (below) you
can deploy to help you shop savvy and
select a whisky that best suits your
recipient’s taste."
The foodies’ favourite: rich, fruity
whiskies, like those aged in
sherry-casks, are a great choice for
Christmas gatherings as they pair so
well with festive food – both sweet and
savoury. Their Speyside-based distillery
has a long-standing tradition of
experimenting with different casks to
influence the flavour of our single malt
and our Glen Moray Sherry Cask Finish
whisky is a great example of that. Look
out for similar whiskies that feature
dried fruit and spice in their tasting
notes. Think Christmas cake, mince pies
and the delicious flavours of the
season!
The crowd pleaser: if you are unsure of
people’s preferences, then an easy
drinking whisky like our Glen Moray
Classic is a great option. Widely
available throughout the UK, it can be
found in most supermarkets, even now for
you last minute Christmas shoppers, it’s
the perfect single malt to introduce any
non-whisky drinking friends to. A light
dram with soft hints of barley and
citrus, it’s perfect as an aperitif or a
palette cleanser after dinner. It’s also
incredibly versatile and can be used in
a range of traditional whisky cocktails,
including a Whisky Sour or Old
Fashioned.
The strong, smoky one: Peated single
malts are a good option for those who
like stronger flavours The smokiness in
peated whiskies, like our Glen Moray
Smoky 12 expression, works really week
with robust savoury dishes like roast
meats. Intense cheeses like Roquefort, a
high aged cheddar or a salty option like
Manchego is also a delicious peated
whisky pairing.
Whisky for whisky lovers: if you want to
treat an existing whisky fan, look for
something high-aged or unique. A high
age whisky, like those in our Heritage
Range, boasts layers of more complex
flavour which is ideal for a special
occasion. If however, someone is new to
aged whiskies, consider choosing a 10 to
12-year-old expression, which will
likely have plenty of character still at
an accessible price. Our award-winning
12 Year Old single malt is a great
starting point for any whisky journey.
The limited edition: when it comes to
Christmas gifting, keep an eye out for
limited edition bottles, festive sets
and curated collaborations. Many brands
pull the stops out at Christmas, and
include everything from quality
glassware, to whisky stones in sets to
incentivise shoppers. What better way to
celebrate a festive milestone than to
gift something unique – I’ll drink to
that!
Ryan Way, Glen Moray mixology expert:
"Whisky is a wonderful ingredient for
entertaining in the winter months. The
secret to serving a great whisky
cocktail at this time of year is to keep
it simple and delicious, with a dash of
festive flair. Here are two of my
favourites".
 The Partridge in a Pear Tree
Glen Moray Classic’s fruity notes are
accented by green tea in this mellow
serve. If you’re serving a crowd, make
up a jug in advance and store in the
fridge. This can be served hot or cold.
For 1 serve:
Ingredients
50ml Glen Moray Classic
Dash of lemon juice
A cup of apple and pear green tea,
cooled and sweetened to your taste
Slices of fresh pear to garnish
Method
Pour the whisky into a cocktail glass
and top up with the tea. Add a dash of
lemon juice. Garnish with the pear.
 Glen Moray Old Fashioned
This cocktail makes for an excellent
aperitif to kick off an evening of
celebration. Why not make it extra
festive with a cinnamon stick. Remember,
the bigger the ice cube the slower it
will melt and dilute the drink, while
still keeping it nice and cold.
Serves 1
Ingredients
50ml Glen Moray Classic
1 tsp of maple syrup
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
1 orange
Method
Add all the ingredients to a mixing
glass or a jug and fill with ice. Stir
for 30 seconds with a spoon and strain
into a rocks glass over a large ice
cube. Use a peeler to take a long strip
of peel from an orange, squeeze the oils
from the peel over the glass and pop it
in afterwards.
Jane Means, gift wrapping expert: "Bottles are a common item to give away
at Christmas (especially whisky) and if
it comes in the box you can wrap it with
some creative pleats added for
additional elegance. You can also really
impress your friends with this creative
style (below) wrapping with a decorative
fan. This easy technique involves
pleating a triangle of paper to halfway."
Below are some helpful steps by steps
tips. Visit https://www.instagram.com/glen_moray_whisky/
for a handy video.
 Creative bottle wrapping with a fan
Here’s how to wrap a bottle with added
luxury: a neat paper sleeve around the
bottle with a decorative fan of paper
rising from the top, finished with
ribbon and a sprig of fresh greenery
You’ll need:
• One bottle (Glen Moray of course!)
• A sheet of medium-weight wrapping
paper
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape
• A length of thin ribbon (about 60–80
cm / 24–32 in)
• A small sprig of greenery, or faux
sprig (optional)
Step 1 — Prepare the paper
Cut the paper into a square approx 50 x
50cm then cut it in half to make a
triangle
(you will then have a spare triangle to
wrap another bottle)
This will look really effective with
reversible paper
Step 2 — Form the paper sleeve
Start to concertina the paper with folds
approx 2 cm per fold and continue approx
halfway to the centre point
Step 3 — Roll the bottle
Place the bottle on top of the
concertina then start rolling the
bottle, the remaining gift wrap will
hold the fan in place
When you reach the other end, add some
double-sided tape and secure
Step 4 - The finishing touch
Tiffany Hough, some string or narrow
ribbon and tie in an embellishment. This
can be fresh greenery or an artificial
decoration.
Step 5— Giving the gift
As this is a decorative sleeve around a
bottle, ensure that you handle it
holding the base
I have posted a few reviews of some
outstanding Glen Moray single malt
whiskies below for your consideration,
you will find some of them available in
supermarkets and you wil find the
current Glen Moray whisky range available from specialist online whisky
shops such as
The Whisky Exchange
and
Master of Malt
|
Glen Moray Classic Review
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Bottled at 40% ABV.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: A fresh, clean nose, some sweet
vanilla toffee with a gentle icing sugar edge,
a light touch of pear and lemon adds
some fruitiness and just the
mildest of grassy notes
lurking in the background.
Taste: The sweet vanilla toffee
from the nose leads, infused with lemon
from the nose, a little oak, ginger and
nutmeg spice things up a little.
Finish: The sweet toffee and fruit quickly bitters out
leaving a little lingering spice.
Comment: On the nose is
where the Glen Moray Classic excels, on
the palate it isn't quite as sweet as
the nose suggested but still a lovely
duet of toffee and fruit,
it is a little youthful but it doesn't
claim to be anything else. A young
classic Speyside dram and certainly
worth its asking price, if you are
looking to step up from cheaper blended
whiskies and you are on a budget I can
recommend this at around £20 a bottle.
SMW Score 85/100
|
Glen Moray Port Cask Finish Review
|
Bottled at 40% ABV.
Producer's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Vanilla
toffee infused with sweet ripe raisins,
a wee touch of toasted oak and some
distant sugared almond and milk
chocolate.
Taste: Barley
sugared sweet juicy raisin with a lemon
citrus edge leads followed by some soft
vanilla toffee and gentle oak spice
Finish: Long,
some more toffee, the fruit piggy backs
on the sugars for a while before bittering out
and being over taken by the now slightly
drying oak spice.
Comment:
Some very good quality port pipes at
work here making for a cracking young
port rich Glen Moray single malt packed
with a delicious combination of sugar
sweet raisin, toffee and oak and like
many of Glen Moray's whiskies available
at a very drammable price for all
pockets. Incidentally, I have been
listening to the Sunny Side Up album by
Scottish singer Paolo Nutini, I highly
recommend the album as well as the
whisky, just stick the earphones on,
pour yourself a large one and lay back
in your chair. Slainte.
SMW Whisky Score
86/100
|
Glen Moray 12 Year Old Review
|
Bottled at 40% ABV.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Gentle malt with a sweet
vanilla icing sugar edge, the slightest
touch of lemon and just the
mildest touch of grassy notes.
Taste: Delicious mouth coating
malt and toffee vanilla custard is
joined by some oak and the lemon from
the nose is joined by a touch of
lime.
Finish: Long, the sweet vanilla
and malt fades leaving some gentle
mildly drying oak.
Comment: A lovely balance between the
malt, sweet
vanilla, a touch of fruit and just the
slightest grassy notes.
If you like malty rich Speyside
whiskies you will like this, a
quality very easy drinking Speyside
dram. I would love to see this bottled
at higher strength as I think it could
be very good indeed at 46% to 50% ABV,
still a very good value dram at its 40%
bottling strength.
SMW Score 86/100
|
Glen Moray 12 Year Old Smoky Review
|
Bottled at 46.3% ABV,
naturally coloured and non
chill-filtered.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Creamy
vanilla, apple and a wee hint of pear, a
touch of honey and lemon lurks in the
background, all infused with lovely
sweet peat smoke with the slightest
bonfire edge, there is a wee touch of
oak spice lurking in the background
also.
Taste: A
delicious, slightly candied, apple and
pear mix is matched by equally delicious
sweet sugared peat with a creamy vanilla
custard edge, followed by a wee touch of
butterscotch and lemon zest, a lovely
late touch of oak spice.
Finish: A
lovely long lingering finish, the apple
and pear hang on for an age before
bowing out to let the sweet peat, lemon
zest and lovely oak spice take the final
bow. The spices build on the finish
after a few mouthfuls.
Comment:
An absolutely delicious, moreish, easy
to drink dram with enough peat to
satisfy any diehard peathead, its a
creamy vanilla sweet peat so it lets the
Glen Moray fruit and the fruit from the
European oak casks have a say also. A quality peated
dram and the 46.3% ABV bottling strength
just adds to the depth of the flavour pleasure,
a very well put together peaty dram by
the team at Glen Moray and a
serious rival for any peated
Islay bourbon cask matured whisky and
its great that it is now part of the
Glen Moray core range. Whether you are
an old peathead or new to peat, I highly
recommend it, as peated Glen Moray
whisky has come of age!
SMW Whisky Score
92/100
|
Glen Moray 15 Year Old Review
|
Bottled at 40% ABV.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet sherried fruit,
spiced buttery toffee apple and a little
honey.
Taste: Toffee and chocolate coated raisins and sultanas are
joined by some lovely honey and
mild oak spice hanging around in the
background.
Finish: Long, sweet toffee and
sherried fruit slowly gives way for the
mildly drying slightly bitter oak spice.
Comment: No surprises, just as I expected this blend of
American and sherry oak to be. An easy
drinking enjoyable sherried dram from
Glen Moray.
SMW Score 87/100
|
Glen Moray 21 Year Old Port Wood
Finish Review
|
Bottled at 46.3% ABV.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Gentle ripe raisins and
just a little
sugared plum and orange blossom
is intertwined with sweet malt and
creamy vanilla caramel.
Taste:
Chewy toffee and a raisiny fruitiness
leads, delicate vanilla oakiness
and a lovely touch of cinnamon and ginger
spicing things up a little, some late
slightly zesty orange.
Finish:
A deliciously sweet lingering raisiny
fruity finish with a lovely vanilla
caramel edge slowly fades to leave some
gentle slightly drying oak spice.
Comment:
The fruit element imparted by the port
cask over its 2 year finish has made the deliciously
smooth, clean, mature Glen Moray bourbon
cask matured spirit a deliciously, juicy
pleasure. Also great to see whiskies of
this age getting bottled at this
strength which undoubtedly adds to the
flavour pleasure. With Christmas now on
the horizon (I know this as you are
tripping over the tubs of Cadburys Roses
as soon as you walk into Tesco) if you
are looking for a quality easy drinking
dram for a special gift for a loved one
or you just want to spoil yourself then
this will not disappoint.
SMW Score
90/100
|
Glen Moray 2014 Tequila Cask Finish Review
|
Bottled at 55.2% ABV,
natural colour, non-chill filtered.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Inviting
gentle aromas of creamy vanilla and honey
open the dram, layered with notes of
fresh apple, lemon, and a hint of
sugared raisin. Subtle almond adds
warmth and depth to the aromatic
sweetness.
Taste: A
vibrant burst of spiced apple leads,
wrapped in gentle earthy tones and
smooth milk chocolate. Sweet oak and a
touch of pepper develop mid-palate,
lifted by a lively flourish of zesty
lemon and just a wee hint of lime.
Finish: Longish,
with the soft earthiness remaining as
apple and citrus notes intertwine with
sweet, peppered oak. The finale is
slightly drying, leaving a satisfying
echo of seasoned oak wood and spice to
have the final say.
Comment:
A beautifully balanced exploration of
sweetness and spice, showing how Tequila
cask influence can elevate Glen Moray’s
classic Speyside style. The nose is
bright yet comforting, with honey and
vanilla giving way to fresh orchard
fruit and a delicate nuttiness. On the
palate, the interplay of spiced apple,
gentle earthiness, and creamy chocolate
adds real depth and texture, while the
citrus lift keeps everything lively and
refreshing. The finish ties it all
together—long, lightly drying, and
satisfyingly oaky. A distinctive and
refined dram that captures both elegance
and a touch of adventure.
SMW Whisky Score
90/100
|
Glen Moray 2014 Peated Tequila Cask Finish Review
|
Bottled at 58.5% ABV,
natural colour, non-chill filtered.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted
almond and sweet vanilla-laced peat rise
gently from the glass, mingling with
hints of dark chocolate and spiced oak.
Soft wisps of smoke weave through subtle
herbal undertones, creating a rich and
intriguing aromatic balance.
Taste: Sweet,
sugared peat entwines with creamy
vanilla oak, unfolding into notes of
softly smoked ripe banana and a hint of
crisp apple and pear. Gentle earthy
undertones emerge mid-palate, giving way
to a smooth, nutty harmony of almond and
hazelnut.
Finish: A
deliciously long lingering sweet peaty
finish, with sweet peat at the
forefront. Subtle traces of apple and
pear make a final appearance before
giving way to rich oak spices infused
with earthy peat.
Comment:
This whisky is a masterful balance of
smoke, sweetness, and complexity. The
nose is immediately inviting, with
toasted almonds, vanilla-laced peat, and
delicate herbal hints that draw you in.
On the palate, the interplay of sugared
peat, creamy oak, and softly smoked
banana is both playful and refined,
complemented by subtle fruit and nutty
layers that add depth. The finish is
long and satisfying, with sweet peat and
spiced oak lingering beautifully,
leaving a gentle, warm, earthy echo. A
sophisticated dram that showcases both
elegance and adventurous character.
SMW Whisky Score
92/100
|
Glen Moray Warehouse 1 2015 Rioja Cask Matured Review
|
Bottled naturally
coloured, non-chill filtered at
59.8% ABV.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A
little floral, a lovely gentle sweet
toasted vanilla oak, slightly burnt
raisin, plum, and a little dark
chocolate.
Taste: A
delicious mildly candied sweet dark
berry fruity delivery comes
with a lovely bitter dark chocolate edge
keeping the sugars in check, a little honeyed
oak tannin and some gentle pepper.
Finish: The
delicious sweet dark berry fruits continues
long into the
finish before eventually bittering out to
leave a slightly drying mix of lingering
tobacco and pepper dusted oak.
Comment:
As fans of the
Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Collection will know by now, the
distillery does like to offer whisky
drinkers something off the normal beaten
track and something rather special which
it has undoubtedly done here with this
rather tasty 8 year old dram which has
fully matured in a Rioja cask, the fruit
rich dram offers a delicious balance of bitter/sweet and the
59.8% ABV simply adds to the flavour
pleasure in the mouth. A stunning dram
from a top quality Rioja wine cask. I
would hope they have another cask of
this quietly maturing in Warehouse 1 as
this could be very special in another 5
or 10 years
SMW Whisky Score
90/100
|
Glen Moray Warehouse 1 2012 Peated
Rioja Cask Finish
|
Bottled naturally
coloured, non-chill filtered at
58.8% ABV.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet
vanilla toffee infused with a lovely
gentle peat smoke and equally gentle
wine soaked raisin and sultana
fruitiness.
Taste: Sugar
fuelled gentle bonfire peat smoke
alongside a delicious wine soaked
raisin, sultana and plum fruity mix
leads the delicious first wave closely
followed by a little honeyed oak tannin and some
lovely gentle pepper.
Finish: A
deliciously long rich sweet, peaty,
fruity, spicy finish. The fruit is
eventually overthrown by the slightly
drying oak and spice and the lovely
gentle sweet peat out lasts them all.
Comment:
An absolutely delicious balance of sugar charged
grape and Glen Moray's gentle sweet peat
smoke has made for an absolutely
outstanding dram. I would love to see
this become a permanent addition to the
Glen Moray core range, a Glen Moray
Peated Rioja Finish 11ish Year Old
sounds good to me and it certainly
tastes good, how about it, the powers
that be at Glen Moray?
SMW Whisky Score
93/100
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