Glen Mhor 1965 Licensed Bottling (G&M)

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail bottled this Glen Mhor, distilled in 1965, bottled at 40%. Glen Mhor, a lost Highland distillery by the Caledonian Canal, fell silent in 1983. It installed Saladin box maltings in 1954, malting its own barley on site.

This was run through the stills and old worm tubs on Loch Ness water, giving a rich, robust Highland spirit. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the oily spirit. Carrying no age, soft vanillin (vanilla) and a waxy orchard fruit suggest a fair spell in cask. Slow oxidation over decades draws the full spirit towards a waxy, oily richness. A slow maturation suits the full, oily make, the fruit turning waxy with time. It was built in 1892 by John Birnie, a former manager of Glen Albyn, with the Leith blender Charles Mackinlay. The worm tubs gave a full, oily spirit, less copper contact leaving real weight in the make. No new spirit will follow it, the Inverness stills cold since 1983.

At 40% it is full and waxy. Baked apple, wax and a gentle spice, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is oily and full, the fruit carried on a waxy body. The finish is deep, waxy and oily. This is a full, oily Highland single malt of real age.