Glen Albyn 12 Year Old Blackpool Trams Dreadnought No.59
Wee Drams | 43% ABV
Score: 4/10
Some Promise.
TL;DR
A classic bonkers Invernessian whisky from Glen Albyn
What’s Glen Albyn Got To Do With Trams & Blackpool?
The Inverness trio of closed distilleries generally receive a short shrift from the mainstream whisky press. The reasons for this can be two-fold, with personal experiences forming a less than stellar opinion of their produce. Then, there’s the lack of information available on either Glen Mhor, Millburn or Glen Albyn, prompting the usual statutory paragraph that we see everywhere, much like toilet graffiti or those flat earth comments you see alongside every motorway or beneath a bridge.
The lack of information is a reflection that no one has really had the opportunity to research these lost distilleries and others across Scotland in the detail they warrant. After all, you don’t know what’s out there until you start digging. With libraries becoming more digital, we have more information at our fingertips than ever before. During the era of whisky writer Michael Jackson and other enthusiasts, resources were thin on the ground unless you were able to visit the site and talk with the workers.
I’ve already addressed Glen Mhor with an ongoing project that has turned into a labour of love and one I cannot see an end to. In researching this Inverness distillery, I’ve inadvertently come across nuggets relating to Glen Albyn, so that’ll be next. The Millburn project is also being set-up to hopefully shed some much-needed light and appreciation on these rather divisive distilleries.
Each of these Inverness distilleries has a character of its own. Glen Mhor is really variable and at times an acquired taste. I do enjoy its extremes and odd moments. A variety of whisky styles produced from just one site with only three stills. Makes you wonder why bother with all-sorts of different shaped and sized stills when Glen Mhor offered tremendous variety using more simple means.
Glen Mhor’s co-founder was John Birnie, who is credited with turning around Glen Albyn before jumping ship, or tram? You can read more about that story elsewhere on Dramface. However, it’s wrong to assume as some have suggested that Glen Albyn is a sister distillery of Glen Mhor, or vice versa. They did come under the same ownership in 1920 and were across the road from one another leading to such a sentiment. There must have been a certain sweetness or irony for John, when he became a co-owner in Glen Albyn after being refused an element of ownership decades prior. What would have happened if he had stayed onboard? I suspect there would be no Glen Mhor and we’d be talking more about Glen Albyn and its journey to greatness.
That never transpired, although Albyn had to cover the shortfall in the Glen Mhor malting floors over the years, so there was always a connection and synergy. My research shows they were distinctly different and the distillery teams had a friendly rivalry that was still evident in the 1970s. But they had joint events in later years to celebrate milestones and achievements such as the installation of Saladin Boxes.
“This single malt Scotch whisky was condensed using very unusual ‘D’ shaped worm tubs; these increased the cooling efficiency and adding to the flavour of its distinctive spirit.”
While John turned around Glen Albyn, he didn’t build or design the distillery. He did improve the quality of the output resulting in the aforementioned success. Glen Mhor was his opportunity to create from the ground up and his style of whisky. A very different proposition to Glen Albyn, which was often viewed as a blending component by Mackinlay & Birnie. Less worthy of an official single malt bottling during their tenure, unlike Glen Mhor that received its own core range. My own experiences with Glen Albyn do confirm a stylish whisky but at times a lightweight and not welcoming at younger ages or tolerant of being reduced. These Highland malts are best experienced in their most natural and arresting form.
The same applies to Millburn which is the least known and despite being on the opposite side of Inverness, shares the same ability to delight and annoy.
We’re heading into a miniature series that featured stock from the wonderful Signatory warehouses. Bottled in 1993, we know it’s a 12 year old, so heralds from either the 1980 or 1981 vintage and reduced to 43%. This was part of a set for what I presume is some miniature collectors club that had a passion for trams, Blackpool, or probably both? Signatory has bottled a handful of 81s but at advanced ages, so just my gut instinct leads me to think this is 1980, which they did bottle in teenage years (including at least one cask split) and were variable at best in terms of quality. Possibly these are the leftovers from a split cask or another type of filling? Expectations are not high on paper, although there’s only one way to find out.
There are more positive expectations whenever verging on the moment of tasting a closed or lost distillery. Anticipation rises, as does the realisation that such moments are becoming less regular with each drop and mouthful.
Glen Albyn circa 1918, photo credit: Canmore
Review
Bottled in 1993, Signatory stock, 43% ABV
Released as part of a miniature set in the 1990s
Nose
Not an appetising arrival with mould and damp wood. Almost putrid in places with new plastic and white grapes. Let’s leave it a while. Ceramic tiles. There’s almost a coastal, dried seaweed vibe going on here – very odd. Pond water, mint leaf. Yeah, I know I’m not selling this to you whatsoever. Boiled confectionery, saline, ginger, crackers and baked spiced apples. Aye, another typical Inverness bonkers whisky.
Palate
More spirit based as the cask must have been on its last legs. Green apples, some pear drops, sawdust and white pepper. Soggy cardboard as well, possibly that’s either being reduced too quickly as it is, almost verging on soapiness into the finish or just a botched distillate. Cheap white wine, flour, crackers, a touch of white vinegar.
The Dregs
You never know what you’re going to receive with any of the lost Inverness distilleries and this bottling proves the point yet again. I made my 5cl last, returning to it over the course of a couple of days. The nose certainly calmed, losing some of the more unpleasant notes and retaining a simple sugary white grape aspect throughout. In comparison, the palate remained awkward and reflective of a lacklustre cask.
Not a great advert for Glen Albyn, but I’m not deturbed, as I’ve had better and more still exist out there to be appreciated. At a very basic and optimistic level, it is drinkable and I’ve had worse. Whisky is always about discovery, good or bad and moving on to the next dram to repeat the cycle.
As for the initial question? I’m still no closer to the truth, although the Dreadnought No.59 seems a better tram than a whisky.
Score: 4/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DM
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