Glen Albyn 1979/2023 G&M PVC Private Collection #3857

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 56.4% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This Glen Albyn comes from a single sherry cask in which the whisky matured for 43 years. Refill Sherry Puncheon number 3857 had previously been used to mature whisky. Distilled on 19 September 1979, the single malt was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail on 9 January 2023 for the Private Collection. It forms part of the second release of the Recollection Series, which brings together whiskies from closed distilleries. Just 95 hand-blown crystal decanters were filled with the whisky.

At 56.4% alcohol, this is a high-strength bottling. It is neither chill-filtered nor coloured and comes in a premium box. Each bottle contains 0.7 litres.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Intense roasted coffee gives way to fruitcake. Subtle spices and beeswax polish emerge behind them. Toffee made with dark sugar syrup and charred oak add to the aroma, with a delicate note reminiscent of dark chocolate truffles.
• Palate: The whisky feels smooth on the palate and reveals dried figs. Dark cherries and orange peel give way to dark chocolate, its flavour balanced by cracked black pepper and charred oak.
• Finish: The finish is full-bodied. Delicate oak and liquorice notes linger for a long time.

Distillery/Bottler:

Glen Albyn stood in Inverness on the site of a former brewery. Following a fire and an intervening period of use as a grain mill, the distillery was rebuilt by Grigor & Co. in 1884. One distinctive technical feature was its D-shaped worm tubs: alcohol vapour condensed inside coils immersed in these cooling vessels. Their unusual shape made cooling more efficient and helped shape the character of the spirit. Production ended in 1983, and the distillery was later demolished.

Gordon & MacPhail acted as the independent bottler for this release. The company began in Elgin in 1895 as a grocery and spirits merchant founded by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. John Urquhart developed the selection and maturation of whiskies from nearby distilleries, an approach continued by his son George. Carefully matching spirit with cask, along with long maturation periods, became important foundations of the family business.

Gordon & MacPhail's approach to casks includes selecting wood to suit each spirit. For its sherry casks, the company commissions casks made to its own specifications in Jerez and has them seasoned with sherry before they are sent to Scotland. It sources ex-bourbon casks from North America with the support of the Speyside Cooperage. These general practices complement the individual cask selection and maturation decisions made for each bottling.

Facts: