Saying that Glen Avon was a kind of hotchpotch brand of Gordon & MacPhail (more precisely its sister company Avonside Whisky) would be unrespectful. In any case it was made with stocks from an undisclosed Highland distillery – some say Glenfarclas, some say it could have been different distilleries depending on the batch.
There’s a whole list of versions, ranging from Glen Avon 5 Year Old all the way to pre-war Glen Avon 50 Year Old, including some vintages like 1953, 1955, 1958 and 1959. A lot of them seem to have found their way to Italian distributors.
This was a cylindrical, standard bottle whereas most of the 25 year olds seem to be bottled in square bottles, sometimes with a greyscale version of the label.
Glen Avon 25 yo
(40%, Gordon & MacPhail, 1980s, 75 cl)
Nose: quite superb old sherry, rather fruity with some raisins, apricots and juicy oranges. Fresh plums. Also a classic dusty side, think leather chairs and old books. Hints of Mexican chocolate. Plenty of mint and menthol too. Dry hay. Ultra-classic.
Mouth: soft but not too weak, with the herbal notes and spices from the sherry wood coming to the fore. Mocha. Tobacco and hints of smoky oak. Chocolate again. A tad less fruity than the nose suggested, but very nice anyway.
Finish: quite long given the strength, almost entirely on chocolate now, with hints of ground pepper, liquorice and caramel.
Lovely 1950s or 1960s sherried whisky. I’ve been hesitating between a high 80s score or 90. Maybe nostalgia played a part. Glen Avon used to be fairly affordable until a few years ago, now its fame has spread and auctions prices have risen significantly.
Score: 90/100