Glen Albyn was a highland distillery of much history but less appreciation. Its water being sourced from Loch Ness might have something to do with it? It was founded in 1844 and began distilling in 1846. The first Glen Albyn soon closed due to a fire in 1849, before a new one was founded in 1892, and that's the Glen Albyn I'm about to try (surprise, surprise!). It had same owners as Glen Mhor and those distilleries has since suffered much the same fate. No expenses were spared and new Glen Albyn had state of the art equipment when distillation began. And they kept the stream of whisky flowing until WWI. It started distilling again in 1920 and kept on in good manners until 1972, when it was bought by DCL. DCL wanted to make whisky in cheap manners and rushed out some of the good equipment before mothballing it in 1983. What many people don't know about Glen Albyn is that they actually peated their whisky. Along with Glen Mhor and many others the distillery has now been demolished to make room for a supermarket. Time to try these 9 Glen Albyns of which I've saved up for quite a while.
Glen Albyn 12yo 43% Master of Malt cask#2947
Not many 12yos from Glen Albyn left in the world today I think, thankfully I got the opportunity to try one for my site. I know the Master of Malt a while back rebottled some Signatories into miniatures, could this be one of those? The color is lighter than white wine, borderline water. It smells of white wine, white pepper, licorice, dry, grassy, orange zest, yellow tea, tobacco, lemon. A bit like Cardhu 12 if you ask me. The taste is apples, pears, sweet fruits, agave juice, honey, white grapes, melon, peaches, a real fruity symphony. The finish is peppery and sweet, hanging for a while, then gets pleasantly bitter.
A great everyday dram in my opinion: 7.5
Glen Albyn 22yo 1972-1994 40% Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice
Seems Glen Albyn can perform very well at both young age and low strength, lets try this older one from Gordon & Macphail. The color is amber orange. It smells orange zest, aubergine, agave liqueur, peat, leather, ripe pears, plums and peaches, dried fruits, kind of bland but rather flawless. The taste is sweet, peppery, slightly peaty, bitter lemon, banana, grape seeds, avocado, peppermint, pistachio, again very light and easily drinkable in huge quantities, and such it is a dangerous malt. But it is far from an interesting one. The finish is a bit dry and peppery, but very short. Typical MOTR CC-bottling from Gordon & Macphail, a good introduction malt whisky for newbies, but unlikely to be chosen for that purpose.
Light and flawless, could be used to mix drinks with: 4.5
Glen Albyn 27yo 1979-2006 53.2% Part des Anges Closed Distilleries cask#362
Part Des Anges is a fairly new independent bottler, but it seems they've already been putting out some more exclusive bottlings, especially in their "Closed Distilleries"-series. The color is deep golden. It smells of vanilla, mandarin, kiwi, exotic fruits, coconut milk, old books, attic dust, thyme. A bit like a two-dimensional nosing, at first its fruity and exotic, then old and rustic. The taste is smooth, creamy vanilla, honey, plum juice, cream liqueur, vanilla ice cream, milk chocolate, sambuca, aniseeds, a most delightful Glen Albyn. The finish is drying, sweet, buttery, vanilla, dark chocolate, roasted almonds, pesto. Superb, I'm glad I've been able to collect this many whiskies from this, in many peoples perception, little missed closed distillery.
Creamy, honeyed, fruity, not much complexity, but that's for someone else to long for: 8
Glen Albyn 27yo 1975-2002 54.8% OB Rare Malts Selection
A bottling by Diageo I think. As you see most bottlings in this series were done some years ago and I'm not sure how many casks of Glen Albyn there's around anymore. Tasting a bit of scottish history? I think I sure am. The color is golden. It smells of aniseed and spirity notes, vodka, lime peel, perfumy, a bit less enticing than the single casks. The taste is peppery, marzipan, sweet liqueur, really intense, needs a bit of water to open up? Now waters added. It now tastes sweeter, moss, grassy, earthy, spirity, burnt sugar, honey. This one is quite frankly a bit off. Not a very good whisky in any way. The finish is spirity. I think perhaps that Diageo bottled this just to fulfill a series? Who knows...
Let's hope this was a one-off for Glen Albyn: 2.5
Glen Albyn 25yo 1979-2005 56% Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare cask#3958 btl.218/238
One that I got a full bottle of after I discovered a great Glen Mhor from the same series, but as I remember it, I was perhaps a bit optimistic, but its been some years since last time I tasted this. The color is golden. It smells of peppery, nutty and spirity notes, peanut butter, salty butter, oily, sweet, vanilla, green paprika, lemonade. The taste is really sweet, honey, vanilla, spirity, sort of sulphury and spirity, what I'd imagine gasoline to taste like. Some notes of burnt plastic. This is a Glen Albyn that's really hard to follow. I was pleasantly surprised by the nose, but then it alt went pear shaped for me. I stand by my word that this is not a worthy bottling for either Duncan Taylor or Glen Albyn.
A few good sweet notes: 2
Glen Albyn 20yo 1969-1989 55% Signatory Vintage cask#483,484 btl.403/1000
This is an even earlier distillation than what I've tried so far. How was Glen Albyn in the late 60's? The color is hazy, amber orange. It smells of sweet and spirity notes, vodka, black pepper, horseradish, wasabi, a very raw and spirity one. The taste is peppery, zesty, cigar smoke, intense smoke and cigar notes, parsnip. I believe its a bit raw and due for some water. Now it turns sweeter, red onions, heather, cinnamon, oranges, milk chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, a real treat. I'm conflicted whether this could be a sherried whisky or not, but its a rich one anyway. The finish is sweet on cinnamon and cranberry.
Beautiful stuff, but water is a necessity here: 8
Glen Albyn 25yo 1964-1989 58% Signatory Vintage cask#942,943 btl.648/1200
In some aspects quite similar to the #483,484, but this is an even older distillate, one can usually only imagine what a Glen Albyn distilled almost half a century ago will taste like. So, the oldest and strongest one, what casks? The color is hazy golden. It smells of bitter sweet notes, honey, thyme, orange zest, gingerbread, gingery notes, cointreau, white wine. The taste is sweet, caramel, honey, milk chocolate, oranges. But once again its very dry and needs some water, I think. Water added. Now it tastes sweeter, more oranges, white grapes, lemon, pistachio, not a favorite I'm afraid, but a very complex, peppery highland malt. The finish is peppery, malty, red onions, coleslaw, wax, but very stale, rubbery, not a very good one, I think all in all Glen Albyn is an either hit or miss whisky.
It really lacks some depth, an one-dimensional whisky: 3.5
Glen Albyn back when the district was thriving
What once was the back of Glen Albyn Distillery, dreary...
Next tasting: Glen Mhor Distillery
Btw: Today is the annual celebration of women in Norway, congrats!
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