Review #82: Glen Ord 15yrs 1997/2012, 54.2%, Archives, ex-hogshead, C#800083, 64 bottles

what is a Glen Ord? 

It's a monster big distillery way up north, sort of by itself. It's the "Singleton" for Japan, and otherwise I guess it must mostly contribute to Johnnie Walker. They have their own in-house monster big maltings. (There's a lot of barley around there.) Otherwise, they are unremarkable.

Archives/Whiskybase is remarkable, though. I just wish they had a payment processor that didn't trip off every credit card company's security warnings. Oh well, the whisky ...

extremely pale! it was a quiet cask.

nose: pleasant and straightforward. fresh-cut hay, gristly malt, and cling peaches in syrup. lots of lesser notes in the background: cherimoya, bee balm, white chocolate, and an old oak stave. a whiff of honeysuckle.

palate is surprising: sweet and oily at first, then some saltiness develops. (I wasn't expecting such a smooth experience at this strength.) more malty cling peaches, but this time with vanilla and a little oaky bitterness.

finish persists nicely, and fruit almost takes on a creamy roundness, but not quite.


Nothing extraordinary is going on here, but it's a nice naked malt with well-defined flavors. Good quality for the price.

score: 85