Fine malt whiskies are greatly appreciated in Scotland.The term single, when applied to whisky, has a very precise meaning. It indicates that all the whisky in the bottle was made in the same distillery.It is thus the product of a single distillery and has not been blended with whisky from any other distillery, unlike so-called blended whisky’s. The use of the word malt indicates the raw material ;thus a malt whisky is made exclusively from malted barley and no other grain, sugar or fermentable ingredient. It is infused with water, fermented with yeast and distilled in a pot-still. There are actually around 30 malt distilleries in Scotland and their products are the only Malts that may legitimately be classified as Scotch. A whisky must be distilled and matured for a minumum of three years in Scotland before it can bear that appelation. A single malt whisky that is in my opinion suitable for both first timers to the malts and to those who have long known them is Glen Ord.
Glen Ord is actually distilled on the Black Isle which is located near Inverness-the ’’Capital of the Highlands’’. Not quite an island but more a peninsular Eilean Dubh-the legendary Black Isle- is an area with an ancient tradition of distilling.Here is situated the Glen Ord distillery in the attractive little village of Muir of Ord, where the very lush, undulating landscape of the Black Isle gives way to the harsher but still spectacular Highlands which rise steeply in the west. Glen Ord was first licensed in 1838 and the site was initially chosen to be close to a long established meat mill-The Mackenzies of Ord were accorded the right to mill oats and barley in 1627-and it used the very same water supply, the White Burn. The rare taste and savour of Glen Ord, acclaimed by whisky connoisseurs all over the world, owes a great deal to the variety and striking contrast of the surrounding countryside.
The local land, some of the richest anywhere in Scotland, produces excellent, plump barley, milled at the local grain mill. Up the moor there is a massive supply of peat and there is the pure, cool, water of Alt Fionnaidh-the famous ’’White Burn’’. Experts say it is the water from the White Burn that shapes the character of the whisky.Perhaps too what makes Glen Ord so nice is the suggestion os smoke from the malt, the subtle hint of sweetness from the barley, or maybe the whisper of peat. This fine whisky is slowly matured in sherry and oak casks for some 12 years and is today one of the best selling whisky’s in the U.K. Glen Ord has a rich, well balanced taste with hints of sweet and dry malt. It seems to me to also have a slight touch of a sherry and even a hint of pear.
It unquestionably has a smooth finish and a clean aroma. The taste of Glen Ord is most decidely to my taste and would make an ideal pre-dinner drink.The world’s leading authority on this spirit, Michael Jackson, deemed Glen Ord ’’..periously drinkable.’’ Glen Ord won the International Wine and Spirits Competition 94 &95 Gold Medal for the world’s best single malt and the 96 &97 Monde Selection Awards. This brand is widely available, .many hotels and bars stock it, and numerous other outlets. In the United Kingdom it has become a popular brand and has a loyal clientele. This fine product from the Black Isle is much appreciated by whisky connoisseurs and if you travel in Bonnie Scotland you will find many drinkers will opt for a single malt whisky rather than a blended product.It is available in the United States and many other countries. It is not unique since there are many other fine single malt whisky’s available in the market including such gems as Glenmorangie 12 year old, Glenkinchie, a light lowland malt, Oban, with its delicate peat aroma, Talisker, the golden one from the Isle of Skye and Dalwhinnie from the Northern Highlands.
Fine whisky that it is I could not really conclude that it is better than its competitors including the likes of great brands such as Glenmorangie. At the end of the day there are really no bad single malts, they all make for thoroughly pleasurable drinking.