Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Tequila Cask Peated and Non-Peated Review- A Contrast

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Tequila Cask Peated and Non-Peated - A Contrast

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Tequila Cask Finish 2014, 10-Year-Old

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Tequila Cask Finish 2014	Data Sheet
Owner:	La Martiniquaise
Barcode:	5060116326734
Price:	£88 in the UK
Available in Israel	No
Alcohol:	55.2% abv
Age:	10 Years
Vintage Year:	2014
Distillation Date:	25-08-2014
Bottled Date:	23-12-2024
Cask Types:	Finished in Tequila Casks for 2 years
Number of Bottles Produced:	474
Non-Chill-Filtered:	Yes
Natural Colour:	Yes
Kashrus Issues:	None
Kosher Certification:	No

 

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Peated Tequila Cask Finish 2014, 10-Year-Old

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Peated Tequila Cask Finish 2014	Data Sheet
Owner:	La Martiniquaise
Barcode:	5060116326727
Price:	£99 in the UK
Available in Israel	No
Alcohol:	58.5% abv
Age:	10 Years
Vintage Year:	2014
Distillation Date:	19-03-2014
Bottled Date:	23-12-2024
Cask Types:	Finished in Tequila Casks for 2 years
Number of Bottles Produced:	474
Non-Chill-Filtered:	Yes
Natural Colour:	Yes
Kashrus Issues:	None
Kosher Certification:	No

 

Introduction

As mentioned in my previous article on Glen Moray Distillery, the “Warehouse 1 Collection” is an ongoing experimental series to explore the flavour influence of various exotic casks. This, their premium top-of-the-range collection is non-Chill-Filtered, botted without any artificial Colour and at Cask Strength.

The “Warehouse 1 Collection” Tequila Cask Finish and Peated Tequila Cask Finish are the 10^th and 11^th releases within this collection. Only 474 bottles of each expression were produced.

https://urbantropicals.com/product/lg-true-blue-tequila-agave-plant-weber-azul-agave-tequilana

Both the peated and non-peated (very) Limited Editions were matured in Ex-Bourbon barrels for about 8 years before being transferred to First-Fill Mexican Tequila Casks.

Besides the use of Tequila Casks which is quite unusual in itself, these two whiskies demonstrate a few other unique qualities that I don’t ever remember seeing before in a whisky. That makes them really special. I’ll talk about these qualities, Be’ezras Hashem, at the appropriate point in the article.

Regarding price, interestingly, despite both bottles having almost the exact same specifications, the peated version is £11 dearer. I’m not sure exactly why this would be. In general, peated Single Malts don’t tend to be any more expensive than non-peated ones.

Anyway, let’s kick off with the peated version…

Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Peated Tequila Cask Finish 2014, 10-Year-Old 58.5% abv

Product Design and Artwork

If I were in charge of their product design, I’d make sure that the “Warehouse 1” range artwork came with not a totally different, but a significantly different look in order to disassociate it from the core-range that’s mostly budget level, chill-filtered and coloured.

I’d keep the Glen Moray Distillery logo and the round shield emblem, but change everything else. It’s true that the “Warehouse 1” artwork does look a bit different with the use of more white and surrounding coloured bands, but it’s nowhere near enough. There needs to be a forthright distinction, perhaps basing the design around the “experimental” theme. I do not mean anything kitschy or tawdry though. Just my opinion.

As mentioned in my article about Glen Moray, I noted that it’s very much a working distillery and despite the beautifully romantic drawing of a distillery printed on the label of the Glen Moray 12 from the 1980s, the actual distillery complex is very factory like.

I also found it amusing that the "Warehouse 1" has decided to include a romantic drawing of the warehouse. I can assure you; the actual Warehouse 1 looks nothing like this!

I thought, just for fun, I’d ask one particular AI engine to create an oil painting of a romantic Kosher Scottish Highlands Distillery.

This is what it initially came up with:

I thought that the result looked a bit kitschy. I asked AI to make it slightly more moody, similar in style of 19^th century English painters and to include a proper traditional dunnage warehouse, to which it produced this:

I told AI that this wasn’t exactly a traditional dunnage warehouse, being totally exposed to the elements. I asked it to create a warehouse which was enclosed with walls but had a double door opening at one end.

To that it created this:

Not bad. The warehouse still looks a bit off but it’s definitely moody. However, I asked how it would illustrate that this was a “Kosher” distillery?

So, it came up with this. The lettering reminded me of what’s on the side of the warehouse at Laphroaig or Caol Ila, I found the AIs solution quite “creative”. I like the brickwork detail under the white paint saying “Kosher Casks”. Doing a Google Image Search, I suspect that the AI utilised this or a similar photo to get the lettering.

Anyway, enough messing around. Back to the review.

Appearance

For this review I’m going to clearly split the tasting notes up between “Without Water” and “With Water”. You’ll understand why in a minute.

Without Water

Pouring the liquid from the bottle straight into my Glencairn glass, the first thing you notice is that the whisky forms a ring of golden beads all around the inside of the glass, resembling a gold bracelet. The great Charles Maclean, expert in all things whisky, often demonstrates how you can tell whisky bottled at 50% abv or higher by simply shaking the bottle (or covered glass). The presence of bubbles that dissipate slowly over a minute is a sure sign of high alcohol levels. In contrast, a whisky at 40% abv, when shaken, will produce bubbles for only a second or two before disappearing.

However, it’s another level entirely to pour a whisky into your Glencairn and see a complete ring of golden beads all around the inside of the glass that remain there for literally minutes. I suspect that the longevity of the beads might also have something to do with the high amounts of barley oils in this non-chill-filtered whisky as well.

I consulted a Biochemist who works in the Whisky Industry and he gave me this response:

“High alcohol content above 50% ABV primarily drives the formation and initial presence of beads or bubbles in shaken whisky due to surface tension effects from ethanol evaporation, as per the classic "beading" or "leg drop" test. Moreover, Barley oils and fatty acid esters retained in non-chill-filtered (NCF) whiskies do contribute to bubble longevity by increasing overall viscosity and stabilizing the foam structure, similar to how oils affect mouthfeel and texture. However, abv still remains the dominant factor”.

The Colour

As mentioned in my previous article giving a profile of Glen Moray, I wrote that some of their non-supermarket expressions are Non-Chill-Filtered but unfortunately, La Martiniquaise (owners of Glen Moray), still insist on adding E150a Caramel spirit artificial colour. Well, these Glen Morays as well as the entire “Warehouse 1” collection are different. What you see is 100% its natural colour. So, let’s take a look.

It’s a crystal clear medium pale gold tint. (A touch darker though than its non-peated brother).

Now, with water…

With Water

A dramatic, and I mean dramatic - difference takes place the moment you add only a few drops of water to this whisky. It takes only a few seconds for the crystal-clear liquid to transform into something resembling a golden-brown, totally opaque creamy fluid. I suppose you could describe it as a light milky caramel fudge brown colour. However, give it a few more minutes and it turns an absolutely filthy, murky brown. It frankly looks totally unappealing.

Before

After

What Determines the Haziness of a Whisky When Water is Added?

(If you don’t want the technical lecture then you can skip all the blue text and jump down to where it says “Aroma”)

This makes me wonder why other Single Malts that state on the label that they are “Non-Chill-Filtered”, don’t also show such a dramatic change as these two Glen Morays. You add water and do occasionally see a slight change in the opaqueness but nothing as dramatic as these whiskies. The only other Single Malt where I witnessed something even close to this was the long since discontinued Talisker “57 Degrees North”. Ironically, as far as I remember, I don’t even think Diageo bothered to state that it was non-chill-filtered on the label, but quite clearly it had to be.

There are a number of reasons (and not just chill-filtration), which would affect the opaqueness and by extension, the mouth feel and flavour contribution of a whisky.

Before I attempt an explanation, I have a disclaimer to make. I didn’t even study chemistry at High School, let alone university level and the following explanation is what I understand from reading and consulting with experts who do know.

There Are Different Types of Filtrations

For health reasons (you don’t want to swallow a wood splinter), every whisky (as does wine or any other alcohol aged in wood), has to go through a basic form of filtration known as “Barrier” Filtration. This consists of a thin gauze which traps any particles similar to sifting flour through a sift.

After that, most whiskies will go through a more invasive form of filtration called “Chill-Filtration”. When a distillery Chill Filters its whisky, it strips it to a lesser or greater extent of its long-chain fatty acids and esters so that when water or ice is added, there are no oils to interact with and it remains crystal clear in the glass.

However, there are different levels of chill-Filtration usually described as “light”, “medium” and “heavy” filtration. At the most aggressive level it will strip the whisky of so much mouth feel that it will taste thin as if it’s been heavily watered down, even if poured straight from the bottle. I’ve experienced this with for instance, “Bowmore No.1”, bottled at 40% abv.

Long-chain fatty acid and Ester Content

A whisky that has not been chill-filtered retains its natural long-chain fatty acids originating from the malted barley, and fruity esters coming from the fermentation and distillation of the grain. The amount of barley oils will depend on the barley types and type of malting used to ferment the mash. These long-chain fatty acids and esters are extracted at the fermentation stage and preserved and refined in the distillation process.

Moreover, chemical extracts from the oak cask, including lipids from cask wood, also contribute to the haziness of the whisky when water is added.

I have been told that Sherry Casks often yield more “haze-giving” compounds than Ex-Bourbon ones.

Non-Chill-Filtration and the Magic 46% abv Number

It is interesting to note that whiskies bottled at 46% abv or higher tend to resist initial clouding as opposed to whiskies bottled at 40-45% abv, which is why you almost never see a whisky bottled at below 46% abv which is Non-Chill-Filtered. (I can think of only one exception off the top of my head and that’s the old bottling of BenRiach 10-Year-Old, bottled at 43% and NCF).

So, in layman’s terms the amount of natural barley oils, long-chain fatty acid, esters as well as extracts from the oak casks can vary greatly from whisky to whisky or even batch to batch.

 

Aroma

Without Water

Clean, slight copper plumbing smell. Mild peat, wet earth, grass and smoke.

Green Agave juice.

With Water

This peat is clean

With water, the peat intensity scale goes way up.

This lovely sweet, clean, fresh green mainland peat.

You know that hint of farmyard stink you often get with some peaty whiskies? Well, there is not a hint of any of that here.

It’s smoke rising from wet grass and muddy soil.

Minerally. Sugary. Candyfloss. Agave, Sweet Lime Juice. Fresh Wet Wood.

Mouth Feel

It’s thick and creamy. Mouth coating.

Taste

Without Water

Unlike the nose, the alcohol gives your tongue a real green-y alcohol mouthwash fluoride tangly bite. Walnut oil.

With Water

Burnt Sugary Sweet. Green fruits. Guava, ripe Kiwi, Passion Fruit. Ripe Juicy Pears. Starfruit.

Ripe, creamy and nutty Avocado with a spoonful of honey drizzled on it.

Leafy flavours like green and purple Rocket leaves.

Sweet vanilla, powdered sugar. White chocolate cream.

There is a definite taste (and texture) of Vanilla Krembo.

Krembo, which literally meaning “Cream inside it”, is a hard dark chocolate-coated “Doctor Who Dalek” shaped dome of whipped white vanilla (or sometimes Mocha flavour), marshmallow on a malty biscuit base, each one individually wrapped in colourful silver foil. The nearest equivalent confectionary that I remember from 1980s Britain was called “Walnut Whip”, but that was smaller and, as the name would suggest, had a half a walnut on top.

I’m sure that every country has its own similar version, but Krembo has become as “Blue and White” Israeli as the more traditional Jewish Sufganiot (the Israeli version of Jam doughnuts without the hole in the middle). Packets of eight Krembos resembling oversized trays of eggs are piled up from floor to almost head height in every supermarket in Israel, magically appearing around Chanukah time when the cold winter nights set in. Krembo are also sold in larger amounts in thick colourful cardboard boxes. They rival Sufganiot for floor space by the checkout counters, but straight after Chanuka, Sufganiot disappear leaving only Krembo to rule the roost.

On the face of it, the only connection between the two sweet treats is that they both appear at the beginning of winter. According to Google AI, it is Israel’s favourite winter dessert, served in place of ice cream after a meal with fifty million of them consumed every winter. That’s statistically five Krembos per Israeli every year.

Being an after-dinner dessert, Krembo are Kosher Pareve. There is a significant price difference between the “original” Krembo by Strauss, and other rival brands, such as Rio or Feldman. Hechsherim (Kosher Certifications), vary a lot as well. People tell me though that it’s not just branding. Some taste better than others to the point that that the insides don’t just look like shaving foam.

Let’s carry on with the tasting notes.

Lemon and Lime soft Fruit chews (like the ones you throw at a simcha).

Now things start to get really funky: A touch of sweet fluoride. It reminds me of “Tayadent” Shabbat Tooth and Mouth Liquid.

תיאדנט מי פה

(The white one, not the green minty one).

A strange but weirdly delicious combination of Walnut, Vanilla and Spearmint cake.

 

Finish

Green fruits, earthy and refreshing. The finish is medium long.

A Friend Comes a Calling

I was so intrigued by all these weird tasting notes that I felt the urge to pour myself another dram, just to make sure these tasting notes were really there, purely in the pursuit of science, you understand. (Ahem, cough). This must be one of the most interesting whiskies I’ve tasted throughout 2025 and I was thoroughly enjoying the experience. So much so, that I invited a close friend and neighbour whose nose and tastebuds I trust when it comes to whisky, to come over after the Friday night family Seudos Shabbos, to sit down with me and assist me in comparing these two whiskies side-by-side.

I told my friend that he’d really be doing me a great favour as perhaps he could confirm or dismiss some of these really wacko unusual tasting notes that I was getting from these special Glen Morays. When it comes to my friend’s whisky preferences, it’s no “secret” (or a “mystery”) what type he prefers, and that’s Peated whiskies – both island and mainland styles. So, in his usual non-Razzmatazz manner, he agreed to come over (bli neder), after he’d put the kids to bed.

Glen Moray “Warehouse 1” Tequila Cask Finish 2014, 10-Year-Old

Appearance

Without Water

Very similar to the peated version with a medium crystal-clear gold tint, but ever-so slightly lighter in colour.

With Water

With and Without Water

My friend and I thought it would be fun to have a race between the two Glen Morays. After pouring equal amounts of the peated and unpeated into two identical Glencairn Copita glasses, we added water to both at the exact same time and sat back to watch. It soon became clear (or rather completely unclear), that without doubt, the un-peated Glen Moray had won hands down. It turned opaque fudgy brown almost immediately whilst the peated one took a few more seconds to catch up, showing lovely multiple layers of various opaqueness and colour, like an orange sunset. My friend, like I had been earlier, was utterly transfixed by the site. It really was like an amazing science experiment that the professor performs in the laboratory at the beginning of the semester in order to impress his students.

Aroma

Without Water

The following are our joint notes:

Even without water at 55.2% abv, the un-peated Glen Moray Tequila Cask Finish shows silky soft and sweet aromas of creamy Annona fruit, Agave, Passion fruit, Custard, vanilla cream, rich sweet oakiness and soft leather, reminiscent of Single Malt far older than 10-Years. There does not seem to be much alcohol heat at all. That’s quite a trick.

For me, I could tell straight away that this unpeated version is definitely sweeter with more complex fruity notes being more pronounced. My friend however, didn’t agree, saying that he found the peated version more complex.

With Water Added

With two teaspoons of water all those fruity flavours explode. They are also much more in focus. A combination of creamy green and yellow tropical fruits like Agave, banana, luscious ripe honeydew melon, yellow apples and pears with that creamy Annona fruit much more noticeable.

Custard vanilla cream shortcake biscuits, honey and some lovely soft oaky and spice notes.

What a simply wonderful nose on this!

 

Taste

Without Water

Wow! Absolutely delicious, even at cask strength with no water added.

The mouthfeel is really substantial. Creamy and oily.

There’s that copper pipe flavour popping up again, which I really like.

Green grass, floral, honey sweet and fruity.

This is crazy! At 55.2% abv, it is alcohol concentrated but still packed with flavour. I was now intrigued

With Water

An explosion of flavours! Rich and soft yellow and orange tropical fruits. I’m not talking sharp or acidic like pineapple or citrus. This is creamy smooth, like Guava and Passion Fruit served with vanilla Ice cream. There is also a note of sweet soft leather in the background.

After Dinner Orange Mint Chocolates. My friend said that it reminded him of "Sabra" which is very similar as it's a chocolate-orange liqueur.

You can actually feel the creamy thickness of the Scotch Mist.

Mixed Fruit Cocktail in syrup and Whipped Cream. Perhaps a hint of spearmint toothpaste.

My friend on the other hand, did not identify any spearmint, fluoride or toothpaste flavours, either with the peated or un-peated version. Even when I proposed this as a possible flavour note and he actively looked for it, he nevertheless dismissed the suggestion. Nope. “No toothpaste”, he said, “not even Shabbos toothpaste!”

Finish

What’s left in the mouth are those delicious green fruits and minty-chocolate. A wonderfully medium to long, bearing on the long finish.

 

Conclusion

So, I suppose you are all waiting to hear which of these editions I like the best. It wasn’t a surprise to me to hear my friend announce that he enjoyed the peated version more. I on the other hand, preferred the un-peated Glen Moray by far! The peat was nice but slightly drying and it masked some of the fruitiness that was very front and centre with the un-peated version.

I know that these bottles are expensive and would never suggest that you buy both. It comes down to whether you are a peat-head like my dear friend or whether you prefer a more luscious fruity single malt. In any case, both these bottles are highly recommended for a serious whisky tasting session. They deserve your time so don’t rush the experience. They really are quite unique in quite a few ways. You are guaranteed a thoroughly enjoyable whisky evening experience. My friend and I had a smashing time on Friday night discussing the merits of these two drams. I still taste the Shabbos toothpaste though. He insists there’s not a hint of it. With true honesty like that, it is no mystery why I so much appreciate his friendship.