Young Glen Ord single malt works well with sherry
Glen Ord is a beautiful workhorse distillery owned by Diageo and located in the Muir of Ord, just north of Inverness. I had the pleasure of visiting the distillery a few times in the past, and was always impressed by what a clean and efficient operation it is. The single malt itself was more readily available in those years, in that nice square bottle, but then the brand was elevated to be one of the suppliers of The Singleton banner. You know, that one name that combines Glendullan and Dufftown with Glen Ord to conquer the world with accessible single malts. Sadly, since The Singleton of Glen Ord is aimed at the Asian market, we do not see the brand over here in Europe anymore. I would actually prefer it to the other two. As a highland malt, it just delivers a little bit more kick than the Speyside counterparts. Luckily we found a single cask bottled by Hart Brothers. It had been sitting of the shelf for a while already. I remember buying a bottle for the collection of my daughter, who was born in the vintage year of this Glen Ord. Obviously, that bottle is closed until she turns 18 and she can decide for herself what to do with it. In the meantime, I managed to grab a sample somewhere. Here we go!
Glen Ord 8 years old – vintage 2013, bottled at 58,2 % by Hart Brothers
First things first: Distilled in February 2013 and bottled in November 2021, this Glen Ord spent its life in a first fill sherry butt. The series is called Single Cask – Cask Strength.
Upon Sipping: A very pleasant and balanced nose, with modest hints of red fruit, nuttiness and a little gunpowder. The sherry butt did a good job of calming down this young spirit by Glen Ord. Taking a sip, I am greeted by a sweetened caramel flavour, that turns to milky chocolate on the finish, before the high abv adds a good hit of spices. Without diluting I can already say this was an A-class sherry cask. The wood balance is perfect and the added flavours from the sherry make for a classic drinking experience. With water, the caramel flavour is now also noticeable on the nose, but nothing too extreme. The balance on this young malt is incredible. More chocolate notes become apparent with some water, but the finish remains fierce. The Glen Ord cleanliness comes soaring through. This is a lovely drop. I can see why Hart Brothers decided to bottle early, because the wood could become too overpowering in the next two to four years.
Word to the Wise: Glen Ord produces such a nice and clean whisky, that I had some fear the sherry maturation would cloak it. But nothing to be scared off, the single cask delivers a nice every day dram, with just a tad extra complexity to keep it interesting.
Score: 83 points.