Glendronach 33 years old is launched. The distillery closes for six months to rebuild from coal to indirect firing by steam. Reopens in September. Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) becomes new owner through the acquisition of Allied Domecq. Billy even wanted to add new expressions, which we did. I expect that the new generation of whiskies will be mostly NAS with fancy names, but we hope to be able to sustain a core range of top quality whiskies with age statements. Especially because we feel like that’s the way we can keep up the delicate and unique character of our distillery, whereas with NAS-whiskies the influence of the casks will weaken that character.” Keeping the philosophy alive Compared to other sherry matured Scotch whiskies, this is an extraordinary value. The Macallan 18 YO Sherry Oak, to which it is comparable, sells for almost double the price. The finish is long, with the lingering dried fruit sweetness characteristic of sherry matured whiskies, along with a slight balsamic note, with some bitterness and a bit of pepperiness.

The color is a rich, deep gold. On the nose, there are notes of milk chocolate and brown sugar, along with notes of apple, pear, cherry and a bit of grilled pineapple and some anise. You are responsible for all activities through your account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide to us in relation to your account, and for updating it where necessary. You are not allowed to create multiple accounts. We may terminate or temporarily suspend your account to protect you, ourselves or our partners from (suspected) identity theft or other (suspected) fraudulent (e.g. false, misleading, deceptive) activity. You have the obligation to keep your login credentials confidential. You shall not authorize any others to use or access your account. Nose: Chocolate-covered cherries melting over double fudge chocolate cake. Decadent. Dense. Port wine reduction drizzled over ripe strawberries nestled into butterscotch pudding. This smells like I imagined the Everlasting Gobstobber tasted when I was a kid. I could smell this forever.This GlenDronach expression is named after James Allardes, the distillery’s founder. It is matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry casks. All of the above almost sounds to good to be true, but it is. Firstly because numbers don’t lie, and secondly because it was confirmed to Bert Rutkowski during a visit to the distillery in the summer of 2013. As a result retail prices have risen, sometimes quite dramatically. That’s partly due to pricing policy by the distillery, but also because retail outlets realised they could ask higher prices for GlenDronach that was bottled in certain years — a regretful side-effect of this article. Current State of GlenDronach

Colour: red amber, given that Glendronach does not add any e150 to their bottlings, it is quite impressiveNothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). The result is a range of whiskies that feature a deep amber color and a rich complex flavor profile that brilliantly joins a deeply favored, robust whisky character with the sweet, dried dark fruit notes of PX sherry cask maturation, along with the drier, citrus zest and fruity and nutty notes contributed from Oloroso sherry butts. All the whiskies are bottled without any chill filtration and with natural color. If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. No, this is not the whisky they serve at the Member’s Bar at Westminster. Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords have their own custom whisky, as does the Speaker of the Commons, but this whisky isn’t it.

Don’t think anyone is going to fight me on this, but Glendronach is one of the best distilleries out there at the moment. The miracles in cask selection the people of Billy Walker performed after the take-over in 2009. So much that the 15yo revival in no time, became an all-time favorite with the whisky crowd. So what about one of its older brothers: next to the 18yo the official range offers a 21yo expression, called Parliament. Nose: great nose, with lots of elements that I generally associate with other beverages. Powerful but refined notes of sherry and lighter tones of sweet wine, rum and coffee, a bit bitter, dark chocolate and some slightly meaty tones, like cooked ham. Underlying are notes of chopped parsley, some fruity elements: oranges, figs and cherries, with a whiff of peaty smoke. Lastly, a strange hint of latex paint, but not unpleasant.

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I feel the 40 minutes with water really brought out the more delicate flavors of the whisky. The sherry was cut through quite nicely and I could taste more of the base distillate if you like. Nevertheless, the presentation of a whisky surely gives us an insight into the attitude and mindset of a producer when bottling an expression (be it a special release or a core range product). The distiller and blender are saying to us, “This is the best product we can deliver. This is our spirit, and we are proud.” With more and more new distilleries releasing inaugural bottlings and beginning to distribute their core range, we are seeing these three requirements met from almost all of them. They aren’t produced for blends: they are setting up their stall and proudly displaying their liquid in as natural a form as they can. I have been saving this tiny little sample bottle. What better time than the week before Christmas – before everything gets crazy? GlenDronach is among my favorite distilleries, and may make my favorite sherried malt (for the price). The 18 was a mixed bag for me, but it is not every day that I get to taste a malt with over 20 years of maturation, let alone an official bottling.

John loved the pepper bite in the end, I found the pepper and oak a bit overwhelming and far more pronounced than in the 18 yo release. I enjoyed the 18 yo release far more and found it softer and better balanced. In South Africa, the GlenDronach 21 yo whisky retails for R2 500.

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Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates. In any case, I’m off to buy a 12yo Glendronach. That’s something I didn’t expect to say anytime soon. Thanks, Hamish and Dougie– this deep dive was needed. Finish: long and lingering. More notes of wine and coffee, a touch of liquorice, lychees, dark chocolate, strips of leather, tobacco, with a light undertone of vanilla and orange oil. The company has a long history of producing sherried malts, maturing its whiskies either in Oloroso sherry butts or in a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez (PX) casks. The whisky has the characteristic viscosity and palate weight of a sherried whisky. That characteristic seems more pronounced in the older GlenDronach expressions.