Hi everyone,
This was the other Special Release I was very excited about and that surprised everyone. Partially, I think, because Glen Ord is a bit of an unknown distillery but mostly because it was mid-priced, which we see very little of in the SR’s these days (only the Laga 12 and the Unpeated Caol Ila’s really).
When I tried this I had thought it was just straight refill Bourbon and Hogshead matured, which the taste seemed to confirm… but then reading a little background I realised that that was not the case at all. Whisky Exchange put it like this: ‘European oak ex-sherry and refill American oak ex-bourbon casks, then the spirit was moved to ex-Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel casks, and finally it was married together in European oak puncheons.’
Anywho, I got this sample off the ever generous Colin Dunn at a festival and was able to taste it at home.
Singleton of Glen Ord 14 57.6%
Colour: Gold
Body: Medium
Nose: Interesting stuff! The malt is the big player here, fruity too with apple, lemon, melon and exotic orange. The minerality makes it for me, lovely chalky note with some crushed stone, a little oak with cinnamon, marshmallow and wood spice.
Water: More fruity with loads of pear and green apple, much fresher with the malt retreating.
Taste: Soft arrival, cutting citrus, lemon juice to start then the oak comes in with this delicious malt note, ginger and black pepper, melon, complex, mineral notes now coming in with that chalky crushed stone. Masterfully balanced, really.
Water: Fresher here too with more lemon and melon, pear and green apple. Quite sour now though, so loses some balance.
Finish: Long length. A burst of citrus before more malt comes in, some heather and a little chocolate right at the end.
Special Releases 2018. Distilled 2002. Super impressed with this. Delicious and very enjoyable. Despite all the messing around with the casks, it comes across as a very natural style that stays true to the spirit.
84/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Review #692
Whisky Network Review #826
Network Average: 75.1
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
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