Glen Ord 11yo

Glen Ord 11yo

Soho Selection, Milroys of Soho
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden
56.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peaches, apricots, lemon zest, sultanas, hoppy beer, honey, malted grains. With water, malted grains, apricots, peaches, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, cool, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Wet stones, coffee, lemon zest, sultanas, malted grains, chicory, dark chocolate. With water, peaches, apricots, hints of sultanas. 
Finish: Medium. Coffee, chicory, malted grains, lemon zest, wet stones. 

Comments: 

Minerally with heaps of stone fruit. There’s a bitter note here is that I interpret as coffee and chicory, and water brings out even more stone fruit and much more sweetness. Good minerally finish too.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glen Ord 10yo 2009/2020

Glen Ord 10yo 2009/2020

Hidden Spirits Whisky Co
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden, hints of green
53.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, pineapples, fresh baked bread, peaches, stale beer, lemon zest, peanuts, apple juice. With water, honey, pomegranate molasses, germolene, white grapes, hints of peaches. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Apple juice, stale beer, fresh baked bread, pineapples, lemon zest, vanilla ice cream, peanuts, honey. With water, malted grains, vanilla ice cream, germolene, hints of pomegranate molasses, hints of peaches. 
Finish: Short. Ginseng, lemon zest, apple juice, stale beer. 

Comments: 

Cask GO0920. It’s lovely and fruity, with intense notes of malt. With water some peat peeks out, giving it a faint hint of antiseptic. The only drawback is the rather short, bitter, thin finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glen Ord 8yo 2012/2021

Glen Ord 8yo 2012/2021

Carn Mor 
Single malt - North Highlands 
Pale gold 
47.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon sweets, barley sugar, vanilla, cardamom, caramel, hints of liquorice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, slippery, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Barley sugar, sea salt, vanilla, cardamom, fresh baked bread, iron filings, hints of marzipan. 
Finish: Short. Green tea, fresh baked bread, iron filings, hints of liquorice. 

Comments: 

Cereally and sweet, the highland peat character is gentle and faint, manifesting itself mainly in a savoury edge on the tongue, and perhaps a slightly meaty metallic note. Lovely. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Singleton of Glen Ord 18yo (2019 Special Release)

Singleton of Glen Ord 18yo (2019 Special Release)

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Dark gold
55% ABV
Dram

Nose: Golden syrup, white grapes, peach preserves, lemon zest, hints of candied orange peel. With water, honey, vanilla, golden syrup, lemon juice. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, warming, astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Green tea, jasmine, white grapes, peach preserves, honey, dark chocolate. With water, more bittersweet, cocoa nibs, golden syrup, white grapes, dulce de leche. 
Finish: Long. Dark chocolate, green tea, lemon zest, peach preserves. 

Comments: 

Cask strength Glen Ord, very elegant, citrusy and floral. There are jammy notes, which dissolve upon adding water into chocolate and golden syrup. There's also something bitter in this, cocoa, or burnt sugar. The whisky is delicate and surprisingly gentle.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glen Ord 20yo Batch 1

Glen Ord 20yo Batch 1

That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Master of Malt
Single malt - North Highlands
Sunshine yellow
51.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Ginger snaps, honey, apples, pears, lemon zest. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, thickens slightly, turns sticky. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Honey, dried apples, ginger, honeydew melons, prunes, hints of beeswax. 
Finish: Long. Raisins, honeydew melon, beeswax, dried apples, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

Bottle 272/293. Warming and spicy, big citrus and apple notes. Slightly chemical, even floral notes on the tongue and on the finish that remind me of nothing so much as a white beeswax candle. Very nice.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glen Ord 23 yo 1974/1997 Rare Malts

Glen Ord 23 yo 1974/1997 Rare Malts 

Rare Malts, Diageo
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale gold
60.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, photocopy paper, papaya, vanilla, hints of strawberries. With water, mangoes, strawberry jam, hints of palm sugar. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loose, evaporates. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Papaya, preserved guava, honey, strawberries, fresh cut grass, hints of brown paper. With water, mangoes, palm sugar, burnt caramel.
Finish: Long. Papaya, fresh cut grass, guava, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Wow! Felt truly blessed to be able to obtain a wee dram of this amazing whisky. It was complex and sweet, redolent with tropical fruits. It was even better with water, with the fruity notes deepening into jammy notes, and scarily drinkable even though I daren't add too much.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

SMWS 77.19 (Glen Ord 22 yo 1987/2010)

SMWS 77.19 (Glen Ord 22 yo 1987/2010)

2010, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Butter
58% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, butter, cedar, chillies, milk, cream, pears, hints of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, gritty, slightly fizzy.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Vanilla, lemon sweets, apples, cedar, butter, pears, cream, hints of peaches.
Finish: Long. Apples, butter, pears, cedar.

Comments:

Deliciously fruity and dry. Tastes like a cider, or perhaps perry, that hasn't been as fermented as English cider normally is. There are nice sweet creamy, milky, buttery notes as well, which round out the whisky and give it some body.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 77.16 (Glen Ord 21 yo 1987/2008)

SMWS 77.16 (Glen Ord 21 yo 1987/2008)

2008, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale gold
55.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Violets, rhubarb, lemon sweets, cinnamon, sausages, hints of orange peel.
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, tingly.
Tasting: Sour. Toffee, lemons, cinnamon, orange peel, hints of pear, hints of smoke.
Finish: Short. Warm, toffee, salt.

Comments:

A little meaty and sour, with some interesting spicing going on. But not a particularly pleasant whisky, although not unpleasant either. I found it a little hard to get excited about. But it's not bad.

Verdict:

Not bad.

SMWS 77.15 (Glen Ord 21 yo 1987/2008)

SMWS 77.15 (Glen Ord 21 yo 1987/2008)

2008, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Peach gold
54.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Custard, butter, hazelnuts, rose petals, vanilla, oranges, walnuts.
Mouthfeel: Light body, volatile, hot, tingly.
Tasting: Sweet. Marmalade, custard, hazelnuts, fried eggs, vanilla, tobacco leaf, coconut, hints of cloves.
Finish: Medium. Rose petals, coconut.

Comments:

If you could make crumble out of roses, it would taste like this. Perhaps enhanced a little with some drops of orange oil, and hazelnuts scattered on top. Loaded with custard and other nice eggy flavours!

Verdict:

I like this.

Glen Ord 12 yo

Glen Ord 12 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Gold
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, butter, oranges, pears, raisins, oak, hints of smoke, hints of tyre rubber.
Mouthfeel: Light body, very volatile, foggy.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Oranges, peat, lemons, balsamic vinegar, brine, sherry, hints of metal polish.
Finish: Medium. Salty, lemons, brine.

Comments:

Very light body, almost insubstantial in the mouth, despite the low-ish alcohol percentage. Some very salty notes in the taste, combined with something metallic and chemical. Preserved Moroccan lemons in the finish, although not quite as well-combined as with some other whiskies.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 77.14 (Glen Ord 20 yo 1987/2008)

SMWS 77.14 (Glen Ord 20 yo 1987/2008)

2008, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Gold
59.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Milk chocolate, butterscotch, pear, raisins, rose, hints of lavender.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, syrupy, velvety, smooth.
Tasting: Sweet. Butterscotch, raisins, pears, oranges, melon, hints of chilli, hints of hazelnuts.
Finish: Medium, fades quickly, hazelnuts, pears, tea, oranges.

Comments:

Very floral, fruity and smooth. Less sweet that it smelt, which was a slight surprise, but great mouthfeel. Weak finish, lingering, and teasing a little, because the faint fruit notes tantalised me into taking another sip. Easy drinking, despite the strength, and doesn't take water well.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.