I haven’t posted reviews on Mondays for a long time, but for this GlenDronach 50 year old I’m happy to make an exception. Yes, you read that right, 50 years old… Time for a review with a piece of liquid history.
Founded in 1826 the distillery is almost 200 years old, but GlenDronach has never released such an old whisky in its lifetime. Quite a special single malt, of which very few bottles have come onto the market, given that it is a marriage of two sherry casks (a total of 198 bottles, of which only 2 found their way to the Netherlands). Not surprising, of course, because the older the whisky, the less whisky there is left in a cask.
For creating this oldest GlenDronach, master blender Dr. Rachel Berrie selected 2 Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks. These 2 were later married together in 1 PX cask for final maturation, before being bottled at a strength of 43.8% ABV. Both casks were filled in 1971, which makes it even more interesting, as the early 1970s produced exceptionally good Glendronach releases, all of which were also bottled at a respectable age. A look in Whiskybase (for the year 1971) shows that the average scores are all between 92 and 94 points. But the question now is, will this already special 50-year-old bottle also live up to the excellent quality as its predecessors have done? Well, let’s find out, shall we?
GlenDronach 50 year old tasting notes:
Nose: Oh this is very good and quite vibrant for a 50 year old! Dried fruits, such as raisins. Plums. A good drop of rich honey. An earthy note of mushrooms. Tobacco. A hint of oranges. Dark chocolate and walnuts. Then a touch of oak and pine needles.
Taste: really nice again. A hint of tobacco on the arrival. Oranges and cranberries. Balsalmic vinegar. Dark chocolate. A touch of oak. Coffee, but also mint in the very back.
Finish: long, pine needles, oranges peels. Coffee and a good dark bitter chocolate.
This is extremely good. It’s so rich in flavour and the nose is just gorgeous! It’s much less oaky than I would have expected. This is how a sherried whisky should be and GlenDronach shows once again that they are very good at this. A stellar dram!
Sample provided by GlenDronach.
