Glendronach Archives - The Distillates

Tasting Notes by Brand: Glendronach

Single Malt

Glendronach 1993 19 Year Oloroso Sherry Butt #539 60.3% for Japan Exclusive

Nose: fresh grated nutmeg, chocolate covered cranberries, fresh waffles with melted dark chocolate. Loquat / stone fruit moment, that fades and then comes back after setting it down for a while. Ohhhh … Can you imagine a Glendronach reduction on your Belgian waffles? I didn’t tell you to stop pouring sir! Or drizzled on a chocolate pot de creme – to which ryan counters with dipping oreo cookies. This is plain decadence.

Palate: It’s ridiculous how good this is at this exact moment. Like a secret makeout session with my childhood pudding cup. Holy shitballs. From nose to palate it’s so decadent. Chocolate, dates, nutmeg, graham crackers, cloves, black tea, dried cherries, cacao nibs. A big gulp adds a hint of acidity to balance the sweetness, which just levels it up further for me.

Rating: 9 (Shane) 8 (Ryan) / 10 – I want more. I want it so bad.

Glendronach 1993 20 Year Sherry Butt #3 52.9%

Nose: Gooey dried prunes, bazooka joe’s grape bubblegum, black tea, apricot jam, black licorice.

Palate: Cranberry-raspberry fruit leather, takes an herbal / ricola bent, and then nice finish of leather, chocolate covered espresso beans, prunes. I used to make an orange juice, worcestershire, red wine, garlic and ginger reduction, which I would then baste and BBQ my salmon with. Mic drop.

Rating: 6 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10 – this is damn delicious although the herbal note on a big sip is a doozie. Might be a love hate thing.

Glendronach 1993 20 Year Oloroso Sherry Butt #491 54.2%

Nose: Milk chocolate fudge, dark dates, carmelized figs, subtle nods to Dr. Pepper, slightly nutty almonds/walnuts, balsamic vinegar.

Palate: Strong black pepper, worstershire, cracked pepper crusted steak, goes herbal almost veering into bitter, notes from the nose on a big sip, hint of industrial rubber

Rating: 6 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – weird but fun.

Single Malt

Glendronach 19 Year 1993 Oloroso Sherry Butt #467 58.1% for Taiwan Exclusive

Nose: cantaloupe, fig newton, ginger miso fried noodles, pickled hearing or anchovies, pencil shavings, sidenote, its harsh on the nose on the initial pour but after 5 minutes calms down and becomes jammy

Palate: We’ve been cooking for each other in my spanish class. Dishes from home. Julie made chocolate cake. Lisa who sits next to her made a russian salad with mashed potatoes, sweet beets, stewed onions and pickled herring. It was gloriously weird and I couldn’t decide if I loved it or hated it, but it 100% was not boring. Like this pour. The lead vibe. The braggs’ amino acids and black tea kombucha concentrate. Chewing on violets. Chicory – not quite coffee, not quite chocolate, just wishes it were both. It both bitter and it offers a sweet, woody, and intense flavor profile reminiscent of nutty, fire-toasted marshmallows with a strong,, dark, and molasses-like finish.

Rating: 5 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10 – Ryan would only accept a pour from me, but not from you or anyone else. And only from me through peer pressure. I on the other hand wish ryan would gift me his bottle, because I wouldn’t pay for one, but I’d gladly drink it.

Glendronach 1993 19 Year Oloroso Sherry Butt #542 60.3%

Nose: grape tootsie pop right after crunching into the middle, stone fruits, vanilla, raisin nut bran, over ripe fig, oatmeal raisin cookies, pfeffernusse

Palate: apricot black tea with an intense tannin bite, raisins, black peppercorn, bergamot, tobacco leaf, intensity 11 heavy roast espresso, black forest cherry, quite syrupy on the mouthfeel

Rating: 6 (Ryan) / 8 (Shane) 10 – the first sip is potent and dark bitterness, but then the rich syrupy fruit explodes and the pairing is pretty glorious for me. Ryan says its too bitter.

Glendronach 1993 24 Year Sherry Butt #668 59.7% for Hong Fu Taiwan

Nose: Milk chocolate, wool sweater someone smoked pipe tobacco in, biltong, hazelnut, pistachio gelato, dill.

Palate: Full on savory, pistachio encrusted filet mignon, ryan says beef wellington, black pepper oloroso pan sauce.

Rating: 9 (Shane) 8 (Ryan) / 10 – this threads the needle on a full on savory meat bomb without going sulfur in the least.

Glendronach 1993 16 Year #538 Oloroso Sherry Butt 61% for Whisky Live Tokyo Japan

Nose: Mushrooms, chocolate, muscovado sugar, strawberry balsamic reduction, pomegranate, luxardo cherries, dr pepper rib sauce, white pepper

Palate: Star of anise, cloves, strawberry balsamic all the way

Rating: 9 / 10 – hot damn this is something special. Complex and decadent. Also important note, there is a #538 Glendronach 1995 PX 19 Year Old. How they have the same cask number with an oloroso and a px baffles me. But be careful when you shop and check the full details before assuming you just wont a favorite bottle at auction.

Glendronach 1994 18 Year #2002 1st fill Sherry 55.3% for Kinko Japan

Nose: Sandalwood, chocolate, malt balls, slightly perfumed

Palate: Dried figs, prunes, cinnamon stick, cloves, marzipan, tiniest amount of astringency on the finish

Rating: 6 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10

Shane

Glendronach 8yr 43% 1970s

Nose: Climbing Chalk, chamomile

Palate: Carob malt ball, slightly mineral.

Rating: 6 / 10 – lovely old spirit

GlenDronach 2009 11 Year #5875 PX Puncheon 60.8%

Nose: Banana bread, wet hay and sweet oats.

Palate: Hotness, makes me want to lick my own eyeball, fresh ground cinnamon, leather and earth tones, pepper. Super tannic.

Rating: 4 / 10

GlenDronach 1994 17 Year #1327 Sherry Cask 56.5% for The Exclusive Malts (CWC)

Nose: Nail polish, limestone, broccoli and leeks, sawdust, warm desert wind, egg white, lawnmower hard at work. Bee’s wax. Crab apples.

Palate: Chalk, like when I accidentally touch my face when climbing, super mineral with a metallic edge. Reminds me of a grapa. Cedar. floral and then intensely sour.

Rating: 6 / 10

GlenDronach 1995 19 Year PX Sherry Casks 55.8% for The Whiskystore

Nose: Chocolate, maraschino cherries, prunes and dates, chestnuts and almonds, something vegetal or herbal, endive.

Palate: Slight bit of sulfur, strong wood, grapefruit peels, has a tannic dryness similar to a red wine cask, rich PX notes

Rating: 4 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – Some wonderful PX notes, but the slight bit of sulfur combined with the more tannic and dry palate leave you wanting something a bit more.

GlenDronach 1993 19 Year #12 Oloroso Sherry Butt 53.7% for LMDW & The Nectar

Nose: Flat Dr. Pepper, dates, pistachio cookies, prunes, panettone

Palate: Leather, spicy, cough syrup on the “good” end of the spectrum–grenadine / luxardo cherry, a turkish twist to a british Christmas pudding with rose water, pistachios, dates and cardamom, walnut bitters, awesome drying leathery tannic finish. Espresso beans in dark chocolate, leaf tobacco and black licorice

Rating: 8 / 10 – this is a beautiful bruiser of a sherried pour. Oh GlenDronach how we have missed you in our lineup!

GlenDronach 1993 25 Year #6250 54% for Taiwan

Nose: Pineapple upside down cake, maple frosted shortbread cookie, almond tree in bloom, acetone

Palate: Almond biscotti, apricot black tea, very tannic, vanilla extract, all spice

Rating: 6 / 10

GlenDronach 1994 27 Year #2172 Oloroso Puncheon 52.2%

Nose: Orange clove pomander ball, crab apples, brown sugar, ripe melon, basque cake, hint of wet bamboo

Palate: Tangerine peel wildflower honey hot toddy, cloves and cinnamon, lovely high notes

Rating: 7 / 10 – one epic beautiful note. What it lacks in depth, it nails acapella.