Glen Mhor 22 Year Old 1979 Rare Malts - 70cl 61%

Glen Mhor operated for less than a century, being founded in 1892 and closing in 1983. The distillery was located directly at the Caledonian Canal in Inverness, in the Scottish North Highlands. John Birnie and James Mackinlay of Charles Mackinlay & Co founded the distillery, both blenders from Leith.
Birnie has left the neighboring Glen Albyn distillery two years earlier due to a disagreement about shares in the property.

In fact, Glen Albyn and Glen Mhor worked together very closely for years. In 1920, Glen Mhor took over Glen Albyn entirely. The distillery passed from father to son, with William Birnie, John’s son, taking over the management of the site as his father aged. In 1972, William sold both Glen Mhor and Glen Albyn to Distilleries Company Limited, ending the Birnie family’ control of the two distilleries. DCL ceased the use of the Saladin box in 1980, and eventually closed the distillery in 1983 due to the hard economic climate during the big British recession. Glen Mhor was demolished in 1988.

Official bottlings of Glen Mhor, one of the lost distilleries of the Highlands, are hard to come by, as they barely exist. The distillery never released “official” bottlings, but it was possible to purchase Glen Mhor Single Malt from the UD Rare Malts range. These included a 22 year-old, a 28 year-old, and a cask strength bottling. The majority of these date from the 1970s. Independent bottlings were easier to source, with a small variety available on the market, the majority having been performed by Gordon & MacPhail or Signatory Vintage. Gordon & MacPhail’s bottlings include some of the last that were ever done at the distillery, dating from the early 1980s, while Signatory’s bottlings tend to be on the older side, with ages ranging from 25 to over 30.