We're looking at a pair of wine cask matured releases from Gleann Mor's Rare Find range, released in April 2025.
Gleann Mor Rare Find Dailuaine 16yo Cask #7469
Region: Speyside
ABV: 55.9%
Price: £99.95
Today’s first review was distilled on 26th March 2008 and bottled in 2025 after a finishing period in a Foursquare rum cask. A total of 213 bottles were released. For full transparency, Gleann Mor sent us a sample of this—but, of course, that won’t influence our review.
Nose
The nose opens with creamy vanilla, fresh apple slices, a little lime juice, sponge fingers and a light white pepper spice. The alcohol is fairly present, but not overwhelming for us. Going back, we're finding some more tropical fruit aromas, pineapple bruleed banana, and some under ripe papaya. A fairly light and delicate nose, not overly expressive but pleasant enough.
Palate
The palate opens with sour candies, heaps and heaps of them, moving into some dried apple flesh, apple skin, toffee brittle and unsalted peanuts. It's got quite a sour/bitter flavour, fairly dry but with hints of caramel, oak spice and taffy. The alcohol is fairly well integrated, the spice is balanced and the finish does linger on for a good length, with dried mango pieces starting to appear as the dram sits on your tongue. The mouthfeel has a sugar syrup like texture and we're starting to get more sweetness coming through as the dram opens up in the glass.
Nose (with water)
The reduced nose transports us to an orchard full of apples, freshly pressed apple juice, a little white wine, poached pears and pineapple juice. There's a custardiness that's also appeared. It maintains a good balance of alcohol and we're finding the nose really quite lovely with a few drops of water.
Palate (with water)
The reduced palate has much more tropical fruit, the mango, the papaya and the pineapple are now front and centre, with the rum maturation being shown off much more prominently now. We're finding the astringency from before to be mostly gone, although the finish is still quite drying, with those unsalted peanuts and oak coming through for us.
Conclusion
Rum finishes can be hit or miss for us, but we quite enjoy Foursquare as a distillate so we were excited to see what this can do to a classic Speyside whisky. The dram has a lovely mix of tropical fruit and citrus on the nose which we enjoy, however the palate is slightly too dry and sour for us. Saying that, we find the palate develops a lot more balance as it opens up with time and air. A few drops of water really transforms the dram into something a lot more balanced for us.
Score: 6.5/10
Value
The price is on the higher side, but we’re willing to cut them some slack as the Foursquare cask finish likely added to the overall cost.
Gleann Mor Rare Find Glen Ord 10yo Cask #9503
Region: Highlands
ABV: 57.6%
Price: £89.90
Today’s other review was distilled on 5th May 2014 and bottled in 2025 after an eight-month finishing period in a Châteauneuf-du-Pape cask. A total of 318 bottles were released. Once again, the sample was provided to us.
Nose
The nose opens with red currants, grilled strawberries, charred oak, well fired morning rolls, a drizzle of condensed milk and a handful of sawdust. The red wine finish is quite apparent, but isn't too overpowering - it's not overly tannic either. Going back, we're finding sour cherry, cold butter, custard cream biscuits, light brown sugar and a little fresh peach right in the background. The alcohol is in good balance and it's quite easy to get your nose deep into the dram.
Palate
The palate opens with strawberry laces, a little menthol, balsamic glaze, digestive biscuits, and a bit of cracked black pepper lending some prickly spice to the latter palate and finish. There's also some cherry compote, fizzy ribena - the red wine maturation is definitely present here, with the finish being a bit tannic and drying. There's something earthy, almost mushroom-like that also appears on the finish for us. The whisky has a nice texture, and the finish does linger for a good while with mostly almond marzipan and red berries.
Nose (with water)
The reduced nose shows off more of the malty, biscuity Glen Ord character, sawdust, dry roasted nuts, burnt biscuits, mushroom powder, and cacao nibs. There's still some sweetness here, with simple white sugar and as it continues to evolve in the glass, we're finding warm brioche buns.
Palate (with water)
The reduced palate has a little more rich sweetness, caramel, coffee, a bit of dark chocolate and lots of blackcurrant. Those tannins have softened and its much more of a dessert dram, with black forest gateau flavours in abundance.
Conclusion
It's a dram with lots and lots of red wine matured character, whilst still preserving the underlying Glen Ord spirit. The nose has a mixture of red fruits, oak sweetness, and a little char, whilst the palate delivers more of a fruity, earthy, slightly tannic experience. For us it's a little too dry, but that's part of the Glen Ord character in our experience, so some may gravitate towards that style if they're fans of the distillery.
Score: 6.5/10
Value
A 10-year-old at £90 is going to be a tough sell for many.
- 10 - Perfection. One in a million
- 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
- 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
- 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
- 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
- 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
- 4 - Below average. Passable.
- 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
- 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
- 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.
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