Glen Ord

Translation: Valley of the Round Hill

Region: (Northern) Highlands

Where the malt comes from.

One thing in advance: The single malt by Glen Ord is worthy of all honor. Even better known than for her whiskey is the distillery for her malt. Malting barley is a very time-consuming and lengthy procedure. The few distilleries therefore have their own maltings to produce the required barley malt itself. Since 1968, Glen Ord has had a large drum malting machine ("Drum Maltings"), whose meanwhile 18 malting drums produce 37,000 tons of barley malt a year. Most distilleries in the northern and northeastern Highlands source their malt from here. So a little Glen Ord is in more whiskey than you think.

A little history

The distillery was founded in 1838 as Ord Distillery by Thomas Mackenzie, who gave the license to Robert Johnstone and Donald McLennan. Over the next decades, there were numerous owners, including the son of McLennan, later his widow and her second husband. In 1896, the distillery went to James Watson & Son, who renovated it and enlarged the malt floors. From 1917 to 1919 Glen Ord was shut down. In 1923 the distillery was sold to Thomas Dewar, two years later she came to Distillers Company Limited (DCL). During the Second World War, Glen Ord remained closed like so many distilleries.
From 1958 to 1966 Glen Ord made tests on different types of fuel burning (coal, oil or steam). In 1958, two of the four stills were switched to direct oil firing, and the remaining pot stills were traditionally heated with coal. In 1960, the oil-fired stills were converted to steam. In 1961 they closed the floor painting and installed instead modern basemaking ("Saladin boxes"). In 1966, the number of stills was increased to six and the firing was completely converted to steam.
In 1968, a modern, large drum malting ("Drum Maltings") was built on the grounds of the distillery, which supplies many Scottish distilleries with barley malt, including Talisker or Clynelish. In 1985, United Distillers (UD) took over the distillery, which now belongs to Diageo.

The single malt of Glen Ord was temporarily sold as Ord, Ordie, Glenordie or Glen Oran.

What do I actually have in the glass?

The Glen Ord has a fairly full, voluptuous body with pronounced sweetness and a long finish. Spices, chocolate and nutty flavors are also found here, as well as sometimes smoky hints.

3 reasons to love Glen Ord

1) Because there is no malt without malt.

2) Because the whiskey of Glen Ord deserves recognition.

3) Because the Visitor Center is one of the most worth seeing.

The one drama for the lonely island

The 21-year-old "Director's Cut" 1992/2013 from the refill Sherry Butt by Douglas Laing is a lush and spicy feast for the senses.

numbers and facts

Address: Muir of Ord, Ross-shire IV6 7UJ

Founded in 1838 by Robert Johnstone and Donald McLennan

Status: active

Owner: Diageo

Capacity: about 5,000,000 liters

3 wash stills (18,000 l)

3 spirit stills (15,500 l)

Water: Loch nam Bonnach, Loch nan Euan

Visitor Center: yes

Telephone: +44 (0) 1463 - 872004

Website: www.malts.com