Hard to find

Only for true enthusiasts and completionists

For the details…

Inverness, considered to be the capital of the Highlands, might be expected to be a thriving distilling hub. It is not. Even in the midst of the current whisky boom, not a single malt distillery operates in Inverness, nor–at least as of this writing–are any planned. That wasn’t always so. In fact, as recently as the early 1980s, Inverness had three operating distilleries, all part of the expansive portfolio of what is now Diageo. 

One of those three was Glen Mhor, a product of the boom years of the late 19th century. It was built in 1892 by John Birnie, manager at the neighboring Glen Albyn distillery and Leith-based blender Charles Mackinlay. The small distillery was designed by renowned distillery architect Charles Doig. Apparently, some limited quantities were bottled as a single in the late 19th and early 20th century. DCL (a precursor firm to Diageo) acquired the distillery in 1972 and closed it during the whisky loch only 11 years later. It was bottled as part of the Rare Malts range, and there have been sporadic independent bottlings.

Elgin-based independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail has bottled numerous expressions of Glen Mhor over the years, including this 1980 vintage (only 3 years prior to the distillery’s demise), bottled in 2011 at about 30 years old. My wife bought it for me back when Whisky Exchange still carried a truly astonishing selection of malts from lost distilleries at something resembling reasonable prices. It’s an interesting, rather complex dram with a mixture of savory, herbal and feinty notes, but almost none of the funk one sometimes gets with older bottlings.

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Mhor 1980 (bottled 2011) 43% abv

Nose: Salted dark chocolate with caramel. Linseed oil; varnish; old leather chair. Charcoal; light woodsmoke. Roasted salted peanuts. Leafy and somewhat herbal, like dried basil or oregano. Geranium leaf. Sage honey. Complex.

Body: Light to medium, ashy.

Palate: Light woodsmoke, rust and salt. Black pepper. Peanut brittle. Green olives in brine. Fire roasted red peppers. Grilled vegetables. Chocolate caramel cookie. Burnt plastic. Both savory and herbal. Complex.

Finish: Burnt rubber. Sage honey. Very salty and still savory. Blueberry. Fading to dry, gentle smoke.

Score: 79/100

Who should buy it?: This one is mainly for the collectors. An interesting, pleasant dram, it’s not enough of a crowd pleaser–especially at its price point–to appeal to anyone but the dedicated Scotch enthusiast.

Overall thoughts: When I first tasted this, I was…well, not blown away, but really impressed. It’s a good dram, and it has some interesting aspects and some intriguing interplay of characteristics, however, compared to other whiskies from a similar time period that I’ve had, this one seems a little ordinary.

Bottling Information:

Expression: Glen Mhor 1980

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: ?

Bottle Code: AA/ JF JH

Presentation: Unspecified

Details: Distilled in 1980 and bottled in 2011

Price: $375

Availability: There’s still a fair amount of Glen Mhor floating around out there, although I can’t speak for this particular expression. As with most lost distilleries, your best bet is probably an auction such as Whisky Auctioneer, Scotch Whisky Auctions, or WhiskyAuction.com.

Distillery Information:

Region: Highlands

Location: Inverness, East Central Highlands

Geography: Inland

Date Founded: 1892

Owner: Distillers Company Limited (DCL, now Diageo)

Website: https://www.malts.com/en-us/

Capacity: ?

Plant Summary: ?

Total expressions sampled: 1

Overall distillery score: n/a