Glen Mhor 25 Years Old 1963 Fine Old Higland Malt (Sestante)

From the Italian bottler Sestante, a 25 year old Glen Mhor, distilled in 1963, bottled at 40%. Glen Mhor, founded in 1892, was one of Inverness's three vanished distilleries. It was closed in the same cuts that took Glen Albyn, Brora and Banff.

Distilled in a single pair and a half of stills and cooled in worm tubs, giving a rich, robust Highland spirit. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light vanilla over the oily body. Through the evaporative decades the spirit concentrates, esters folding into dried fruit, beeswax and a waxy oil. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits both bourbon and sherry. Slow oxidation over decades draws the full spirit towards a waxy, oily richness. It installed Saladin box maltings in 1954, malting its own barley on site. Years in oak round the spirit, the orchard fruit deepening to dried fruit and beeswax. No more will ever be made, the distillery silent since 1983.

Bottled at 40%, it is rounded. Baked apple, wax and a gentle spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft orchard fruit and a waxy oil sit behind the cask. The finish is deep, waxy and oily. This is Glen Mhor, the malt Neil Gunn prized above all.