Glen Mhor 22 Years Old 1966 Cask #4743 (Moon-Import)

A Glen Mhor of a 22 year old chosen by the bottler Moon-Import, distilled in 1966, from cask 4743, bottled at 46%, one of 264 bottles. Glen Mhor was a Highland malt distillery, demolished to make way for a supermarket. It stood between the Caledonian Canal and the railway in Inverness.

The spirit was worked through the stills and worm tubs for a rich, oily body, for a rich, oily make of orchard fruit and a waxy weight. First fill bourbon gave a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut. At this evaporative stage ellagitannins lend a drying structure while oxidation builds a richer, oily fruit. Most Glen Mhor went to the blenders, a little kept back to mature as single malt. Its water came from Loch Ness, drawn down the River Ness to the distillery. Active wood frames the fruit without smothering the full, oily spirit. It was built in 1892 by John Birnie, a former manager of Glen Albyn, with the Leith blender Charles Mackinlay. No more will ever be made, the distillery silent since 1983.

At 46% it is smooth and oily. Apple, pear and a waxy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is oily and full, the fruit carried on a waxy body. A long, oily finish carries a dried fruit. This is Glen Mhor, the malt Neil Gunn prized above all.