Glen Mhor 42 Years Old 1965 Rare Vintage (G&M)

From the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 42 year old Glen Mhor, distilled in 1965, bottled at 43%. Glen Mhor was an Inverness distillery whose worm tubs gave it a rich, oily body. After closure it was demolished, the site given over to a retail development.

This was worked through the stills and worm tubs for a rich, oily body, the worm tubs lending a full, oily weight. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the oily spirit. In its ethereal years the malt is waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a touch of sotolon (maple, dried fig). With the distillery gone, the casks that remain are a finite record of its make. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. 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. 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 43% it is smooth and oily. Apple, pear and a waxy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The texture is full and oily, the fruit lifted by vanilla. The finish is long, oily and waxy. This is Glen Mhor's full, oily old Highland style.