This is 70cl at a lower rate per ml and slightly better value. The 75cl were only available outside of the UK.
A 39 Year Old single malt from The Singleton of Glen Ord, matured in a combination of European oak casks that had previously held port, red wine, Pedro Ximenez and oloroso sherry, which were later married in casks that previously held Bordeaux red wine casks. Mellow aromas of rich fruit cake, wine-soaked raisins, candied orange, toasted almonds, butterscotch and slightly burnt vanilla sponge cake fill the nose, complemented by notes of peppery spice, sticky dried fruits, plums, backing spice and sweet cherries throughout the palate.
A rather sublime Singleton of Glen Ord single malt here, folks. This expression has been aged for an impressive 39 years, and has gone through quite an interesting maturation. 27 years ago, Malt Master Maureen Robinson moved a 12 year old single malt over to a selection of casks, including Port casks, red wine casks, and ones which held a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry, where the whisky slumbered soundly for over a quarter of a century. Following that, the whisky was then given a finish in French Bordeaux casks, further building upon its decadent richness.
This 39-year-old is the second oldest The Singleton release to date. Crafted under the watchful eye of Master Blender Maureen Robinson, the whisky was matured in a combination of port, red wine, Pedro Ximénez, and oloroso sherry casks, before being finished in French Bordeaux casks. Based on the 12-year-old expression, it’s a complex and nuanced spirit with notes of fruit, raisin, butterscotch, spice, almond, and orange zest. It’s bottled at 46.2% ABV and is limited to 1,695 bottles globally.
The aroma of Glen Ord’s new make spirit – which smells like a freshly cut lawn – is created by having clear wort, long fermentation, a high cut point and copper rich distillation. By keeping the water in the shell and tube condensers hot the ‘conversation’ between vapour and copper is extended. The actual condensing takes place in after-coolers. A sweet toffee undertone, and gingery spice are added through maturation when the low levels of peat smoke also reveal themselves.
The Black Isle was noted for being the site of Ferintosh, the four-strong distillery site which the Forbes family was allowed to operate on a dry free basis from 1688 to 1784 as a reward for supporting the Hanoverian kings. By the early 19th century, it had become the heartland of distillation, with moonshiners sharing the land with nine licensed sites.
The distillery at Muir of Ord was built later, in 1838, by the local laird Thomas MacKenzie, who then leased it out to a succession of owners who ran it with varying degrees of success. Things stabilised in 1896 when the Dundee-based blenders Jas. Watson took charge and expanded the site. Watson’s then sold it on to Dewar’s in 1923 and two years later was absorbed into the greater DCL (Diageo) estate.
It is one of only three distilleries currently which are self-sufficient in their malt requirements [the others are Roseisle and Springbank]. Its original floor maltings were replaced with Saladin boxes in 1961, which in turn were removed when the large drum maltings was built in 1968. Today it produces malt for all of Diageo’s northern plants, Talisker and, on occasion, makes heavily peated malt for Islay.
A recent rise in demand (from blenders and as single malt) has seen Glen Ord expanding twice. The first phase saw capacity rise to 5m LPA and a second (completed in 2014) saw that double to 10m LPA.
It has been available as single malt since the 1980s, although under a confusion of different names: Glen Ord, Glenordie, Ordie, Ord, and Muir of Ord. Diageo has now plumped for Singleton of Glen Ord and is promoting it heavily in the Asian market.
*some minor chips to the edge of the box edge.
