The Singleton of Glen Ord 39-year-old Cask Strength / 46.2% / 0.7l

The expansion, completed in 2015, made Glen Orda Scotland’s sixth largest malt distillery with a capacity of 11 million litres of alcohol per year.

Glen Ord remained widely available until 2006, when Diageo offered three different Singletons to three continents. The group’s CEOs “allocated” Glen Ord to the Asia-Pacific region, which significantly limited its availability in other parts of the world. The limited edition (1,695 bottles) presented here is the work of the master blender Maureen Robinson, responsible for the Singleton brand. In her creation, Ms. Robinson used distillates aged in European oak barrels from port, red wine, Oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximénez. This unusual blend was married in red Bordeaux barrels.

Nose : complex, Christmas fruitcake, sherry-soaked raisins, raspberries, blackberries, roasted almonds, candied orange peel, toffee, caramel, ginger, hints of cinnamon and oak.

Palate: slightly waxy, raisins and sultanas, honey, vanilla pudding, milk chocolate, orange jam, cinnamon, cloves, a dash of black pepper and oak.

Finish: long, sweet and spicy, with notes of milk chocolate, cherries, plums, vanilla, ginger, allspice and oak tannins.