Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness — Hiroshima’s specialist whisky & rum bar with 1,000+ bottles
There is a category of whisky story that nobody puts in the marketing materials but that serious enthusiasts tend to find memorable: the historical details that make a distillery genuinely strange. Glen Moray’s story contains one of the stranger ones.
Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin, Speyside, was built on the site of a former gallows — a place of public execution. The distillery has existed there since 1897, and the ground beneath it carries a history that has nothing to do with whisky and everything to do with Speyside’s pre-industrial past.
The Whisky Itself
The historical context stands in sharp contrast to what Glen Moray actually produces: a gentle, accessible Speyside single malt with fruity, cereal-forward character that makes it one of the most approachable entry points to the style. Honeyed, mildly fruity, soft in texture — Glen Moray is the kind of whisky that converts people who think they do not like whisky, which is a genuinely valuable role.
The distillery also runs an active cask experimentation programme, finishing expressions in wine and other casks that give drinkers an introduction to how maturation influences character without overwhelming the base spirit.
The contrast between the distillery’s history and its contemporary output is, in its way, exactly what whisky is about: something beautiful that exists in a place with complicated history, made by people focused entirely on the present and future.
Glen Moray expressions are available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the full Japanese column: little-happiness.jp/columns/glen-moray/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp