As a big fan of the Glendronach distillery I was quite excited to hear they are releasing a peated whisky edition, distilled using peated malted barley – first matured in bourbon casks followed by a second period of maturation in the finest Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. As Glendronach are synonymous with good sherry matured whisky, It is really interesting to see how their peated spirit will come out, finished (or matured) in PX and Oloroso. Let’s get going!
GlenDronach Peated , 46% abv , ~£36 
Nose: Quite creamy and not very peaty on the nose. Not as much as I’ve anticipated anyways. Apple and pear, vanilla and coconut, quite dusty and with time red berries develop.
Palate : Quite oaky to boot, with a sugary sweet note, cereal juices and pepper. The peat presents itself eventually with wood smoke and a dry feeling but it’s not medicinal or herbal at all.
Finish : sweet barley sugars, part smoke and more of the berries and apple.
Bottom Line:
If you were hoping for a big peat and sherry monster, you will have to look elsewhere. The nose is quite shy, and although there is a bit of peat, it’s mainly wood smoke. The nose and also the palate are both quite sweet, with fruit, wood smoke and barley sugars, it is not half as peaty as other peated highlands and definitely different from what I was hoping for (something more like Benriach 10). it is a nice change from mainstream Glendronach, but the sherry is not intense here as well. A few notches below their other NAS (Cask Strength). A nice whisky to try, but not the whisky I was hoping for.