Two Young(er) Glendronach single casks from batch 8

Batch 8 of Glendronach has been released with batch 10 of BenRiach (Its sister distillery) a short while ago. I chose to start with the BRs then enter Glendronach sherry land, and here we are. GlenDronach indeed is synonymous with sherry casks, and indeed their entire range is heavily sherried, and very much loved by sherry heads. I chose to start with the youngest of casks and then continue with older casks until we reach the oldest 1971 cask.

Glendronach 2002 cask #1988,10 Yo, PX Sherry Puncheon , 55.6% vol

Nose: Really not a sherry monster, and quite lighter and more spicier than I had anticipated : Sweet &  spicy. White pepper. Cinnamon. Treacle. Wine vinegar. Hints of citrus and banana.

Palate: Warm stewed fruits. Treacle. Mulled wine. Pepper. Demerara sugar and cinnamon plum jam.

Finish: Plum jam. Wood spices and dollop of honey.

One of the lighter and more spicier GD’s i’ve tasted to date, really nice, but with lighter sherry effect than i’d expected for a 10 year old, However, It’s a really nice opportunity yo get to know how GD spirit does feel like sans the BIG sherry. lovely stuff, too bad I could not find it online on most big retailers. It has probably sold out fast.

Score: 88/100

The next dram is a slightly older (17 year old) , aged in the same type of PX Puncheon, which is lovely, as to see how 7 more years in a cask changes the liquid.

GlenDronach 1996 cask #1490 , 17 yo ,PX Sherry Puncheon / 53.1% vol

Nose: We’re off to  big sherry land! Lovely whiffs of balsamic give way to nuts with candied ginger , dry plums and dates sprinkled with pepper. Again, quite spicy, but the PX really kicks in this time making it much sweeter, thicker, and Sherried like we’re used to from an older GD.

Palate: Spicy and sweet with lots of tannins. Chilly. Plum jam. Leather and chocolate. Yumm!

Finish : Dry. Wood and plum and date jam with wee espresso and cocoa.

Again, this is a lovely dram, showing how 7 more years in PX can transform it to a heavily sherried dram. Although the sherry is very strong here, it’s not yet going to the double espresso tobacco and dark chocolate way, and does preserve some nice fruitiness and spiciness. All gone by now too…

Score: 89/100

Glendronach is indeed  known by its superb sherry whiskies, and not for nothing.. I am really looking fwd to trying 3 more of those older single sherry casks! watch this space in the coming week or so for more GD fun.

Official sample provided by GlenDronach.