Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Amontillado Cask Finish - 70cl
Amontillado is a drier, nuttier style of sherry than the oloroso you usually see behind cask-finished Scotch, and that difference is the whole point of this bottling. Distilled at Glen Moray in 2013, it matured first in ex-bourbon casks before a finishing period in Amontillado sherry casks. The result leans savoury and earthy rather than jammy and sweet. A UK-exclusive from the Warehouse 1 series, it was limited to 1,248 bottles, all natural colour and non-chill filtered.
Glen Moray sits in Elgin, in the heart of Speyside, and has built a name for interesting cask work at prices that stay sensible. This release is a good example: a proper single-cask-character finish without the eye-watering tag that often comes attached.
Bottled at a cask strength of 57.5% ABV, it opens with caramel and chocolate before turning earthy, all leather and tobacco. The palate follows that thread deeper, worn leather and tobacco broadening into woody, tannic flavours, with chocolate hazelnut running underneath. The finish softens as those tannins give way to rich, buttery chocolate. This is a whisky that changes with water, so add a few drops to lift the sweeter notes and tame the grip, then adjust to taste.
A characterful, slightly brooding dram for anyone who finds most sherry finishes too sweet.
How to Serve
Neat in a Glencairn to meet it at full strength, then water added slowly. Give it time in the glass to open.
Where to Drink It
Dukes Bar in St James's, for a quiet, considered pour. The Connaught Bar, where a rare finish belongs. Black Rock in Shoreditch, for whisky lovers who want to talk casks.
Food Pairings
Wonderful with a good Manchego, or a plate of cured meats and toasted almonds to meet that dry, nutty, leathery character.
