Glen Albyn 1974 28 Years Old (Cooper’s Choice)
I’m a frequent visitor of Inverness, as I love the place. Not just as a base from where to explore Speyside and the Highlands, but also as a home away from home. Plus, they have Hootananny!
Up until the early 1980s, Inverness used to be home to three different distilleries. Only Millburn is preserved. Somewhat… It is now a Premier Inn. Glen Mhor and Glen Albyn (the producer of today’s whisky) were both demolished to make way for superstores.
All we have left of Glen Albyn today, is their liquid. Very rare stuff indeed, as the latest Whiskybase entry stems from five years ago. That bottle was released by Gordon & MacPhail (who else?). If there might be some Glen Albyn left somewhere, it’s probably in their warehouses. Or maybe in Cadenhead’s.
The Glen Albyn 1974 28 Years Old we taste today was bottled fifteen years ago by Cooper’s Choice. I’ve tasted this once before, during a sailing trip off the west coast of Scotland. Imagine my surprise when I encountered that exact same bottle at last year’s Whiskybase Gathering. I brought home a sample, and here is the result.
Glen Albyn 1974 28 Years Old (46%, Cooper’s Choice)
Nose: Light and floral with hints of tobacco leaves and menthol, before shifting to a fruitier gear. Think tangerine and orange zest. Finally also some furniture polish and pencil shavings.
Taste: Proper, older style whisky, although in part maybe because of some bottle aging. Creamy mouthfeel. The menthol is here again, as is the furniture polish. The oranges also make an encore. A whisper of cloves and ginger.
Finish: Spicy and nutty, before settling into caramel and oranges.
Rating: 88
Balanced, well-aged and with its own distinct style. There’s not much to fault here. A beautiful piece of whisky history.
Photo: whisky-onlineauctions.com
Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.
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