Glen Ord 1983, 31 Year Old, Cadenhead Single Cask

You (and by that I suppose I mean I) don't tend to see a lot of Glen Ord around (although I note that Signatory have just recently released another single cask), the bulk of the 162 independent bottlings listed on whiskybase coming from Signatory and SMWS, with Cadenhead a distant third.

[This, incidentally, will be the second of Cadenhead's gold-labelled Single Cask series that I've tried, the first being this really bloody good Glen Keith.]

I have, though, never actually tried a Glen Ord before this, but from what I've read of the profile, it should fit comfortably up my alley - amongst other euphemistic mixed metaphors.

[For the record, I'm sticking with the more recognisable "Glen Ord" in the title rather than Cadenhead's Glen-less "Ord" - the arcane and eccentric distillery naming system that Cadenhead utilise for their labels goes way above the head of one such as myself, so I wont even bother trying to work this one out.]

Glen Ord 1983, 31 Year Old, Cadenhead Single Cask, 51%

Nose: Sweet honeyed barley at first, soon becoming quite waxy. After a little while some fruits gather - rock melon, kiwi and a hint of orange citrus. Oak spices emerge after even more time.
Water accentuates the fruit a touch, bringing in some sweeter stonefruit like peaches and nectarines, and after a while some less sweet stuff like papaya and cocoa.

Palate: Powerful, mouth-filling arrival, with lots of spice, malt, wax and salt. A touch of Clynelish about it. Something herbal - rosemary? - along with vanilla, passionfruit and milk chocolate.
Water turns down the heat a fraction and releases a whole lot more fresh fruit - orange, peach, melon, mango, pineapple - along with honey and maybe cinnamon. Beautiful bourbon cask notes. The mouthfeel remains creamy yet prickly and lively as it expands across the palate. Maybe a touch of smoke here, too, now?

Finish: It remains quite spicy as it develops, with the salt lingering into the chocolate-laden finish.
Water sees the fruit - oranges, clementines, mango - extend further into the long salty finish with the chocolate now prominent only right at the very death.

Great whisky.
For me, an absolute highland classic. Salt, bucket-loads of (tropical) fruit, spice and a hint of smoke.
The kind of whisky I wish I could drink forever.