Glen Ord 30 (2005) Review

Hi everyone,

In my opinion, Glen Ord is definitely one of those underrated distilleries. The clean, mineral style can make for some fantastic whisky and some of the old older bottlings were really well regarded. It is also the site of one of Diageo’s huge industrial maltings, so the malt is done in house too (technically).

So I’d always been on the lookout for this old CS version at 30 years old and was lucky enough to find a small bar in Chicago that had a happy hour on rare whisky! I was being shown around by Single Cask Nation’s Joshua Hatton and he also recommended this bottle.

I actually own a barrel of Glen Ord now and Having recently got a sample, I think it’s great stuff young too.

 

Glen Ord 30 58.7%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Fresh and fruity, no way I would guess that this was 30yo, freshly cut citrus peels, orange, malty, malted milk biscuit, some white chocolate, more floral as it opens up with walking through an orchard with a load of flowers in bloom, just keeps on giving and developing. Stunning nose.

Taste: Soft and unctuous, super oily and fresh, those citrus peels again, orange, lime, great fruit, incredibly structured malt and oak tannin, amazing balance, poised and structure (Joshua said austere), slight mineral component developing more and more and continuing into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Great structure again, more mineral, still oily but drying with more of the oak here but not over the top at all.

Released 2005. Undoubtedly fantastic. It doesn’t quite reach emotional levels, though the nose is up there.

89/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #864

Whisky Network Review #1038

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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.

Why is this here?

Singleton of Glen Ord 14 Review

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!

Updated Distillery Ranking

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.

Why is this here?

Compass Box Double Single & TINALW Reviews

Hi everyone,

Two more Compass Box’s today.

The first is a cool little whisky I’ve heard about but never really seen in the UK. It’s the Double Single, which means that it is a combination of one single malt and one single grain. This technically qualifies it to be a blended whisky, but it’s an interesting angle.

And then, the one I’ve been meaning to try for ages. TINALW. Which is another nonsensical name based on the art/whisky thing. Cool designs on both though. Love the CB packaging, even if the whiskies don’t always match the (high) expectations.

Compass Box Double Single 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Really very good. Lovely ripe apple, some spice, some oak, light and ethereal, oily, something elusive that keeps you looking. Green apple, orange and white chocolate.

Taste: Red apple, oily, slightly waxy, nice level of oak, lightly peppery, chilli infused olive oil.

Finish: Medium length. Lightly peppery, black pepper.

So this is 72% Glen Elgin from recharred Hogsheads and 28% Girvan from recharred Bourbon barrels. Lovely but lacks complexity on the palate. This stuff is expensive though, expect to pay £150.

79/100

Compass Box This is Not a Luxury Whisky 53.1%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Complex, funky and floral. Fresh, fig, ripe cherry, pollen, rose petal, geranium, raspberry.

Water: Lighter and more ethereal.

Taste: Rich and intense. Ripe or slightly under ripe cherry, building oak, some spice, red apple, ginger and white pepper, green apple and wax, some salt.

Water: More balance and more cherry.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Chewy, more sour cherry, red apple and oak.

79% Sherry butt Glen Ord, 10.1% Strathclyde, 6.9% Girvan and 4% Caol Ila. A bit better with water, but I ended up being a bit disappointed with this. Especially with price factored in, I was expecting more (something I get a lot with CB).

82/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #523-#524

Whisky Network Reviews #616-#617

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

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 am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glen Ord 2004 Cadenhead's Small Batch Review

Hi everyone,

Back again with some Glen Ord. The only distillery at the moment with an industrial drum maltings, supplying a large portion of malt for the hungry Diageo workhorse distilleries.

At the moment it’s much more available in Asia as part of the ‘Singleton’ branding. The other two being Glendullan for the USA and Dufftown for Europe.

Luckily, the indies have a load of… indies for us to enjoy as well.

This one is from Cadenhead’s and they release a new barrel of these quite regularly.

Glen Ord 2004 Cadenheads Small Batch 60.5%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Light, alcohol, clean, bright, interesting minerality, lemon, vanilla.

Water: More of the same, some oak. Interesting. More Water: Chocolate, lemon, light orange, more balanced.

Taste: intense, clean, bright, youthful, alcohol, lemon juice, mineral stoniness, chalk, malt, vanilla into the finish.

Water: Softer, building intensity, maltiness, lemon, chalk, slate. More Water: More balance. Integrated, citrus, malt and oak.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Light, alcohol, lemon and vanilla. More integrated with water.

Bottled 2014 at 10yo. Really enjoyed those mineral notes on this, wasn’t expecting it from a Highland distillery. Think this could have done with a bit more maturation but it’s a great look into the distillery character.

71/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #333

Whisky Network Review #366

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

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. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?