All Things Whisky

GlenDronach Cask Strength (Batch 1)

54.8% abv

Score:  91/100

Oh man…how we’ve waited for this one.

If ever there were a possible contender to knock Aberlour a’bunadh off its pedestal and steal the title of ‘favorite young cask strength sherry bomb’…this would have to be it.  Affordable, immense and immediately endearing.

GlenDronach is doubtless one of Speyside’s finest distilleries.  Their output is almost uniformly high…they produce some exceptional young whiskies…and further…their older whiskies are among the best available.  More on the older whiskies in other reviews though.  We’re here for a young’un today.

This expression is set to be small batch release type whisky, much like the aforementioned a’bunadh.  12,000 bottles in this case, and all sold out within three weeks.  Impressive start.  The folks at GlenDronach must surely feel a sense of justified vindication.  This whisky is a mix of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez matured malts.  Yep…very sweet, as to be expected.  Age?  Who knows.  Youngish though.  And that works.

I should note here…it’s nice to see GlenDronach following on the heels of Auchentoshan and others in acquiescing to consumer demand and offering up that bold flavor stroke of cask strength and non-chill-filtered.  Not that we ever really worry about a lack of flavor from GlenDronach.  Excepting their 12 year old flagship expression, their releases are all 46% or higher.  Brilliant!  We’re not greedy or anything; we simply understand that alcohol is the vehicle for delivering flavor.  A simple equation: higher alcohol = bolder taste.

Complex dram, this.  And very impressive.  Give yourself a fair bit of time to work through this one.  It will continue to unravel as the clock ticks, releasing a swirling eddy of nuances.  These are the fun sort of whiskies we love; multi-dimensional, deep and thought-provoking.

From this humble reviewer to Billy Walker et al…many thanks.  Keep up the great work, folks.  Looking forward to batch 2.

Nose:  Cherry and strawberry jam.  Orange marmalade.  A hint of mint and pepper.  Chocolate.  Very sweet.  Spicy, but I think a tad less heavy-handed on the spices than the afore-mentioned a’bunadh.  Dried fruits covered in crystalized sugars.  The soft smell of suede.

Palate:  Juicy at first, but slightly tannic and quick drying.  A little pithy and rich in high content cacao.  Maraschino, dark dried fruits (raisin, plum, fig) and hints of old Demerara.  Again…very sweet.  Into tobacco and damp woods.  Now the spices are nipping at the tongue.  Long and long and long.  A finish I’m very fond of.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

GlenDronach 21 y.o.

48% abv

Score:  85.5/100

One of the older siblings in the GlenDronach standard range.  Named, apparently, for a parliament of rooks (read flock of birds) that nests in the trees near the distillery.

Label says Oloroso and PX maturation, but I’d peg this more as 80% Manzanilla/20% Oloroso.  Well…maybe not quite, but it certainly isn’t even close to as sweet and rich and vibrant as the Oloroso/PX mix would lead me to believe.  Perhaps it’s simply the saltier nature of a quirky meaty note in here that makes me think Manzanilla.

Sadly, though not necessarily a spoiling factor, there is sulphur all over this one.  Not a heavy sulphur, but a broad swath of it across all facets nevertheless.  Even so…I still don’t mind sipping at this one.

Nose:  Needs a little time in the glass before shaking hands with this one.  Surprisingly beefy for a ‘Dronach.  I don’t mean that in terms of strength, but a true meat note in there.  Some sweeter sherry notes coming through too (orange, black cherry, raisin,).  Clove.  Malt heavy.  Over-toasted cask notes.  Finally…as mentioned…a healthy hit of sulphur.

Palate:  Like a diluted a’bunadh with a heavier malt/meat component.  Strong high content dark chocolate.  Bitter greens meet bittersweet juicy grape.  Tart fruit and wine.  There’s a match-like ashy note here too.  Quite drying.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

GlenDronach 12 y.o.

43% abv

Score:  84/100

Re-tasted and Re-evaluated.

Try as I might, I can not love this whisky.  I first reviewed it a couple of years back, and after having dipped my beak into the fantastic 15 year and other older variants, I began to second guess my earlier appraisal of this 12 year old.  I went at it completely independently of my previous marks and scores.  Interestingly enough, with absolutely no idea as to how I had initially broken down my scoring, I differentiated in only one place (the nose), and by a mere half point.

In an attempt to allow this bad boy to sparkle a bit, I threw together a bit of an informal horizontal tasting.  Four 12 year old sherried malts from the Highlands/Speyside regions went head to head.  The results were…unspectacular.  All good.  None exceptional.  Though I figured this may come out on top…it actually ranked in the bottom.  Sorry…ain’t gonna tell what the others were.

GlenDronach is a Highland Distillery of some esteem, and rightfully so.  Founded in 1826, they have been producing fine whisky for just shy of 200 years.  In recent times (2008) GlenDronach has been taken over by BenRiach.  The tradition of crafting bold sherried scotch whisky has not flagged in the least.

Though all of the hallmarks of sherry cask maturation are present, there is one element that knocked me back a step;  the one-two punch on the nose.  First sherry (no surprise)…then wham!   Massive fists of malted barley pummel the olfactory senses.  Bold barley cereal notes are overwhelmingly front and center on the nose here.  When I finally got my head around this I was able to suss out some rum-soaked fruitcake notes (figs and raisin, I think), orange and a toasted marshmallow creaminess.  Though not bad, it sounds more pleasant than it is.

The barley, sherry and sweet citrus develop on the palate as well, dipping and dodging the oak notes.  The arrival is firm, if unexceptional.  It moves on into drier fruits and a lingering oak whimper at the end.

If not for a bit too much cereal roughness (which is long ironed out by the 15 year expression) this would score higher.

Enjoyable, but a little disappointing.

Now…let’s go back to the beginning, in referencing the 15 (and other releases as well).  Though I can’t say the 12 y.o. does much for me, everything from the 15 year mark and on is really, really worthwhile.  GlenDronach, along with sister distillery Benriach, has some of the greatest old stores around.  Hit up some of those exceptional single casks if you can.  Those from the ’70s, in particular.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

GlenDronach 1972 (KWM Exclusive)

Cask 711  Kensington Wine Market Exclusive

Oloroso Sherry Butt

49.8% abv

 Score:  94/100

In 1972 Canada was fighting for their lives against the Russians…in hockey.  Scotland was…well…not kicking at each other in skates, but busily producing some of the finest spirit the world has ever seen.  As a Canadian AND a Scotch lover I’m not sure who comes out ahead here.  Let’s call it a draw.

Many moons and thirty-nine years after the ’72 Summit Series (and the filling of a certain cask at the GlenDronach distillery in Speyside) a ragged crew of Canadians hopped the pond for Scotchland, touring distilleries and swilling spirit.  In their wake they left nothing but stumbling footprints, empty bottles and a bunch of poor shell-shocked Scots shaking their heads and sweeping up the mess.

Though the leader of this motley collection, Andrew Ferguson, was a relatively fine upstanding young man, there was also a devil in their midst.  It should come as no surprise that the devil would have an agenda, and let’s face it…against the devil, only the purest stand a chance.  Having tipped more than one glass with Mr. Ferguson, I can attest to him being upstanding, but let me also add…I think his halo may be a little tarnished.  Against this monster…he hadn’t a hope in hell.

This devil has been known by many names.  Here on ATW he is called Maltmonster.

Fortunately for us, while the Maltmonster is a master of subtlety when it comes to writing and sarcasm (indeed his pieces for ATW are so woven through with hidden references and no-name name-dropping that a lifetime of lifetimes couldn’t untangle ‘em all), his subtle touch goes by the wayside when he finds a whisky worth seeing the light of day.  This leads us back to the tale at hand…

Upon first tasting cask 711 in the warehouses at GlenDronach, the Monster realized that his heart would now forevermore be divided.  His dear, sweet wife holding one half…and a stunning 39 year old with a full body and great strength of character with the other.  In order to have both of his true loves, he began to work his dark magic on Mr. Ferguson.

Fear not.  This tale has a happy ending.

Much to the benefit of whisky lovers all over the Canadian West coast, the Maltmonster and his cohorts managed to convince Andrew (or maybe Andrew convinced himself?) that a cask of 39 year old single malt could be a viable financial investment for the Kensington Wine Market.  Hence…KWM’s latest single cask exclusive bottling.

Though I don’t adore this one with the fierce dedication that MM and AF do, I admit that I do love it.  It was mentioned that perhaps it was a little long in the tooth (my words, not theirs) and I tend to agree, but it is by no means too far over.  A few years younger would have allowed the fruits to shine a little more brightly still.

The change from first pour to first sip is incredible.  Allow it plenty of time to open and unfold.  It really is quite brilliant.  The nose is rich in spice and exotic fruit.  Orange and purple grape.  Chocolate and dark roast coffee beans.  There is a mature oaky note that carries a whiff of latex paint (not unpleasant).  Over all of it there is a lingering scent of freshly baked cinnamon twists.

Huge tropical fruit delivery on first sips.  Big, bold and mouthcoating.  Chocolate, candlewax and oak all over this one.  Big oak.

Great cask selection, guys.  I must get my own bottle before this disappears.  A deal with the devil perhaps?

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Pat

GlenDronach 15 y.o. Revival

46% abv

Score:  92/100

After having recently had my socks knocked off by a couple of exclusive bottlings of GlenDronach I decided to revisit the core range. Glad for it too. “Revival”, GlenDronach’s new 15 year expression, is exactly what I’ve been looking for. A mid-price sherried malt that sparkles without the benefit of excessive aging (and the price that comes with it) or cask strength might (contrary to popular belief, I don’t always want that massive delivery).

To its credit this malt is still bottled at a respectable 46% abv. As I’ve been attempting to drill this home for some time now, I’d like to clarify a little here. Higher bottling strength (alcohol by volume, or ‘abv’) equals a deeper intensity of flavor. We’re not out to get soused here, folks…we’re looking for the proper form of delivery for so romantic a drink. Why dilute the magic?

At 15 years the malty cereal notes so prevalent in the 12 year old expression have all but disappeared.  Instead we’re left with sweet Oloroso sherry and chewy toffee.  Rich and creamy melted chocolate, lightly spiced orange, and fine threads of vanilla and oak are rounded out by a touch of dried cherry and tart plum. Delightful.

Though wickedly tasty in its own right, the nose is so much bigger than what you get on the tongue. How could it not be? By no means is this a disappointment…simply an observation.

It all ends on a high note, as the finish is unique and defining.  The mildly peppered blackberry notes that linger are something that will keep me coming back to this one time and again.  Doubtless, the best expression in the current range.

Shimmeringly beautiful. This one had me at ‘hello’.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt