Glen Mhor 30 Years Old 1980 Rare Vintage (G&M)

A 30 year old Glen Mhor from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 1980, bottled at 43%. Glen Mhor was a Highland malt distillery, demolished to make way for a supermarket. Its make went largely into blends; single malt Glen Mhor is rare and mostly from independents.

It was made on Loch Ness water and condensed in the cast iron worm tubs, giving a rich, robust Highland spirit. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding a light vanilla over the oily body. Ethereal and fragile, decades draw the oily malt to a waxy, honeyed delicacy of sotolon, dried fruit and old oak. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. Years in oak round the spirit, the orchard fruit deepening to dried fruit and beeswax. The oily, waxy texture is a mark of well aged Glen Mhor. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits both bourbon and sherry. With Glen Mhor gone, every bottle draws on a finite, dwindling stock.

At 43% it is full and waxy. Dried fruit, wax and an oily weight, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft orchard fruit and a waxy oil sit behind the cask. A long, oily finish carries a dried fruit. This is a finite single malt from the lost Glen Mhor distillery.