Origin: Highlands (Scozia)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 57.9%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry Oloroso first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Chorlton Whisky
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: chorltonwhisky.co.uk
Vote: 87/100
Founded in 1838, Glen Ord has changed its name three times: it started out as Ord Distillery, became Glen Oran in 1882 and in 1923 took on its current name. As many will be aware, it is owned by the giant Diageo, which in 2013, thanks to a major investment, expanded its production capacity to 11 million litres a year, and its whisky, when it doesn’t end up in Dewar or Johnnie Walker, is bottled as The Singleton of Glen Ord (not to be confused with The Singleton of Glendullan and The Singleton of Dufftown).
One of its single cask ex bourbon 13yo was offered by our friends at Whisky Facile in The Black Cat Series a couple of years ago (and is sadly sold out). Today we see, but not surreptitiously, the effect of a first-fill single cask ex oloroso sherry bottled by David Bennett under his Chorlton Whisky brand, after 8 years of ageing, in 2022, at 57.9%.
Outturn of 252 bottles still available in shops.
Tasting notes
The dark amber colour is very inviting.
On the nose, it’s not the consistency of the notes of figs, caramel and nuts that’s surprising, but rather the depth of a mentholated side that doesn’t give up for a moment and which can be felt in the throat and also in the nose, and the intensity of a pepper and chilli spice that enlivens the profile quite a bit. There’s also a hint of freshly cut wood, which goes perfectly with the balsamic component.
On the palate, sultanas and caramel join milk chocolate in a classic ex-sherry cask trio. A fruity side emerges distinctly, with apricot, yellow apple and pear, with a hint of orange peel. The fresh wood of the nose has long since been put away, because here the impression is of having ended up in an old woodshed, while the spices of the nose, pepper and chilli pepper, remain well present to tease the palate.
The medium-length finish is peppery and woody, with a nice dimension of fruit (apricot and peach).
A particularly active cask and a distillate that has willingly let itself be taken by the hand: 8 years are enough for a level dram in which the alcohol content pushes just the right amount and the strong spicy component seems calculated on purpose to give the drink a plus of dynamism.