The Singleton Glen Ord 14 year old (2018 Special Release)

The Singleton Glen Ord..

This 14 year old special release is rather interesting, initially matured in Refill American oak hogsheads and ex bodega European Sherry butts before moving into Charred ex Pedro Ximenez and Mosatel casks for an extra development period before finally marrying together in European Oak puncheons ( yes that’s 5 different casks )

Glen Ord distillery was founded back in 1838 by Thomas MacLennan and has a capacity to produce 11 million litres of alcohol, with sales of its whisky generally found under the brand name of The Singleton Glen Ord it is one of 3 brands under the Diageo umbrella that use the “The Singleton” brand name, the other two being Glendullan and Dufftown..

This release of The Singleton Glen Ord is bottled at the natural cask strength of 57.6% abv and as mentioned this has been matured within 5 different cask types for 14 years..

Nose.. This is a fruity little beast.. A bowl full of fresh fruit salad with natural sweet syrup, honey and a little citrus vibe really draws you into this.. Soft spices mingle with fresh blossom aromas, heather and the faintest notes of chocolate.

Palate.. Rather drying with a dominant oak note before opening up to those fresh fruity notes, some dried fruits, a touch of Manuka honey and a peppery kick towards the end.

Finish.. Lingering oak and spices..

Thoughts.. This is certainly one of the more gentle drams in this release, the nose is gentle and inviting with plenty of aromas enticing you in, the palate has plenty of flavour but the initial oak / spice is rather dominant and it needs a little time to open up..

Once open however this is rather interesting on the palate and certainly has plenty going on, those 5 casks used during the maturation all seem to want a piece of the action and I do sometimes wonder why so many casks need to be used but who am I to question the make up of this whisky..

The Singleton Glen Ord 14 year old might not be the most robust whisky in the release but I can see why it was included, with an RRP of around the £100 mark this will be more affordable to most who want a bottle from the 2018 special release..