Glen Mhor Rare Malts Selection 22 Years Old 1979

A 22 year old Glen Mhor, an official bottling, from 1979, at 61%. Glen Mhor was a Highland distillery in Inverness, closed in 1983 and since demolished. A 28 year old appeared in Diageo's Rare Malts collection, a glimpse of the lost distillery.

This was drawn off the stills into worm tubs for the full, oily Glen Mhor make, for a rich, oily make of orchard fruit and a waxy weight. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the gentle American oak letting the full spirit lead. At this evaporative stage ellagitannins lend a drying structure while oxidation builds a richer, oily fruit. The worm tubs are the key to Glen Mhor's body, holding the heavier, oily notes in the spirit. With the distillery gone, the casks that remain are a finite record of its make. It condensed its spirit in worm tubs, the source of its full, oily body. Its make went largely into blends; single malt Glen Mhor is rare and mostly from independents. No new spirit will follow it, the Inverness stills cold since 1983.

At 61%, undiluted, it is deep and waxy. A rich, oily orchard fruit, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The texture is full and oily, the fruit lifted by vanilla. The finish runs oily, full and warming. This is Glen Mhor, the malt Neil Gunn prized above all.