Ex-Saladin box Glen Albyn and fitting guest


July 14, 2025

WF’s Little Unlikely Duos, ex-Saladin box Glen Albyn and fitting guest

Times are tough for little WF. The days when we could line up four Millburns, five Coleburns, or even three Convalmore, or indeed, two Glen Albyn we’d never tasted before, seem to be long gone.

Glen Albyn around the time when the 10 yo
was distilled (Diageo/SMD)

But don’t worry, I’m not about to try to make you weep by saying we’re now reduced to tasting Speyside NAS whiskies dressed up in decommissioned red wine casks. Still, when we unearth, say, a rather irresistible Glen Albyn, as we have today, we have to do quite a bit of scheming to find it a worthy sparring partner. In this very case, we looked into which distillery was closest to the old Highlander and found that it was Ord—if we exclude Uile-bheist Distillery, which, having visited last year, still seems highly unpredictable for now. Will we ever get to taste it? We’ll see. But for the moment, feast your eyes on this likely little gem from Inverness… By the way, I thought I had some old Mackinlay blend that, indeed, used to include Glen Albyn, but I must have dreamed it. Anyway, let’s carry on…

Glen Albyn 10 yo (43%, OB, ‘Pure Highland Malt’, UK, bottled by John E. McPherson of Leith, clear glass, 75cl, +/-1970)

This is not the one for Italy (D&C Import). Actually, I must humbly admit I’ve often had a tough time with these Glen Albyns ‘OB’, knowing full well that there have been some splendid batches, but also a few rather more troublesome ones. We’re not talking about the 10-year-old cask strength for Giaccone here, are we, clearly a different league. That said, I was told this particular batch we’re having now was top-tier, though I wouldn’t know how to recognise it myself, save for the fact that it’s not one of the Italian-bound versions. Colour: gold. Nose: how about a mix of cauliflower, farmhouse cider, slag, chunks of zamak, paraffin and slate? This is seriously old-school! Mouth: roots of all kinds, with lemon and salt, some quality green peppercorns, curious notes of underripe pineapple, a touch of kale and, above all, papier-mâché with quite an invasive minerality, tinged with hints of vinyl, olive oil and various other dry oils. Finish: oddly long, continuing on salted liquorice and modelling clay blended with apple juice. Comments: it’s almost like listening to Roamin’ in the Gloamin’ by Harry Lauder on an old gramophone. You try scoring that!
SGP:462 - 88 points.

So, permanently closed in 1983 and demolished in 1988, Glen Albyn was already using malt from a Saladin box rather than traditional floor maltings at the time this 10-year-old was distilled. As was, incidentally, ta-da!... Glen Ord (nice segue, S.). Indeed, Ord upgraded its malting operations in 1961, replacing its traditional floor maltings with a Saladin box. How fitting, as we’re about to taste a 1962…

Ord 24 yo 1962/1987 (46%, Cadenhead, Aberdeen, black dumpy, 75cl)

These 1962 Ords can be notoriously variable, despite their legendary reputation, some utterly sublime (such as the CAD 1962/1989 at 55.4%, or the Bouquet by Samaroli…), others more… improbable. Of course, the geeks mainly remember the brilliant ones. Or the utter disasters. Everyone recalls Loch Dhu the black whisky, for instance, but who remembers Jackson’s Row the blond whisky?? Anyway… Colour: gold. Nose: ace! as they used to say at Loch Fyne Whiskies. The most glorious mix of beeswax, sesame oil, peanut oil, basalt and wee citrus fruits, bergamots, kumquats (hello Dutch dentists), leading eventually to a few glints of copper polish, a classic trait of this series, though here it’s nicely restrained. Mouth: unmistakably a black dumpy. It’s very fine, though one day we ought to let some of these old liquids being analysed to see whether they’ve remained drinkable and haven’t been slightly poisoned or tainted by their closures and/or old glass. But let’s drop the decadent and unreasonable hygiene talk—this waxy, salty, and indeed metallic profile is beautiful. This time, it’s grapefruit that takes the lead, followed by a faint hint of leek soup. The wax does return, unmistakably Ord. Finish: rather long, with wax, metal, and metal polish all well accounted for. Some slightly salted apple and grapefruit bring it all together in the aftertaste. Comments: these babies are never easy to score. I’d say the cask strength versions age a little more gracefully, not that anyone will be shocked. But what a stunning bottle!
SGP:462 - 89 points.

The profiles of this Glen Albyn and this Ord were still remarkably similar. Pure old-school Highlands!

There's an excellent little website about Glen Albyn I had never seen before, BTW.

(Merci Stéphane!)