Glendronach, seven by seven, part trois


August 30, 2017

Glendronach, seven by seven, part trois

Were you thinking we were done with Glendronach, A.K.A. alt-Macallan? Isn’t this whiskyfun dot com? (oh come on, S.!)

Glendronach 21 yo 1993/2014 (53.6%, OB, for Taiwan, oloroso sherry butt, cask #479, 542 bottles)Glendronach 21 yo 1993/2014 (53.6%, OB, for Taiwan, oloroso sherry butt, cask #479, 542 bottles)

Glendronach 21 yo 1993/2014 (53.6%, OB, for Taiwan, oloroso sherry butt, cask #479, 542 bottles)

Oloroso! Colour: coffee. Nose: a sweeter one again, after the last olorosos we had last time. So pretty wine-soaked (although normal oloroso can’t be sweet), full of raisins and prunes, and slightly earthy, in an appropriate way. Bags of chocolate too. With water: some wood stain, cocoa powder, and used ground coffee. Mouth (neat): surprisingly after the nose, this is really very sweet for an ex-oloroso, and frankly, it’s not oloroso-ish at all, despite these notes of dried mushrooms and walnuts in the background. With water: better. Bitter oranges, raisins, burnt sugar, and cooked wine. I mean, overcooked wine. Finish: medium, sweet and dry at the same time, as if it was hesitating. An ex-PX-oloroso-seasoned butt? Hints of pencil shavings in the aftertaste. Comments: really not too sure about his one, something may have happened. Still really good, though. SGP:551 - 80 points.

Glendronach 25 yo 1990/2015 (51.6%, OB, Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheon, cask #1375, 656 bottles)

From batch #12. Yes we’re late, but there are other whiskies around, mind you. But only PX, yeah… By the way, they make very little PX in Jerez nowadays, so what the Scots are calling ‘PX sherry’ may well not come from Jerez at all. But yeah, who cares? We do! Colour: mahogany. Nose: very nice, actually. Rosewood, porcinis, raspberry ganache, and pu-erh tea. Nothing to complain about so far. With water: nice! Damp clay, cigars, earth, Chinese prune sauce, and, how shall we put this, old overused floor-cloth? Mouth (neat): cream sherry, boletus soup, marmalade, and a touch of gunpowder. Unexpected hints of tinned sardines. Really! With water: really extremely good, this time. Yes I know this is only PX. Salted liquorice, dried fish, and salted almonds, with drops of fig arrak over all that. Finish: long, rather chocolaty, with these wee touches of sea salt again. Comments: ah yes yes yes. But PX, really? SGP:462 - 90 points.

Glendronach 12 yo 2003/2015 (55.8%, OB, oloroso sherry puncheon, cask #4081, 348 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: rather easy, with some pencil shavings mingled with raisins, chocolate, and dried figs, as well as blackberry jam. The oak feels a bit young, bourbon-style. A touch of cured ham. With water: the oak comes out even more. Oak and ham, sounds like a country music band. Mouth (neat): a little harsh, but good. Coffee and marmalade with a wee touch of chalk or clay, then unexpected notes of yoghurt, Greek-style. Blueberry-flavoured yoghurt. With water: some lemon balm coming out. Green oak. Finish: medium, not quite definite. Sour wood, something acetic. Comments: it’s really the ‘sherry’ and the wood that are doing all the work in these Glendronachs. Does the spirit have anything to say? I thought this one was moderately good. SGP:351 - 81 points.

Glendronach 19 yo 1995/2014 (54.1%, OB, for Vive la Vie, oloroso sherry puncheon, cask #78, 583 bottles)

I was just thinking, imagine we had to taste all individual casks that are sleeping over there in Scotland, how long would that take us? Around nine thousand years? You say more? Colour: deep amber. Nose: it’s not that we’re bored, this is not Iggy Pop, but we may have gone over our limits. Raisins, oak, a little earth, a little tea, dried figs, dried dates… This is nice for sure, but just between us, very few of them are giving us a b****r. Apologies. With water: the oak comes out. Ginger and nutmeg, like. Mouth (neat): yeah, good, even very good. Gingerbread this time, marmalade, dried figs, candied ginger… With water: speculoos, gingerbread. Finish: medium, spicier. Nutmeg, cinnamon, nutmeg, cinnamon, nutmeg, cinnamon, nutmeg, cinnamon, Comments: we may have touched the limits of the concept of ‘single cask’. SGP:451 - 81 points.

I don’t want to bore you to death, and I think we need a break (at time of tasting). These sessions, however good the whiskies are, can be as boring as watching a dozen episodes of Inspektor Derrick in a row, mind you. So we’ll go on a little later…

… One whole day passes… And we’re back, with…

Glendronach 21 yo 1993/2014 (58.1%, OB, for Beija-Flor and Silver Seal, oloroso sherry butt, cask #35, 605 bottles)

So, what did we say again? Ah yes, that oloroso worked better than PX… Colour: deep amber. Nose: classic, and rather Macallany. Quinces, dates, figs, raisins, cigarette tobacco, fudge, touches of herbs… This is nice. With water: touches of earth, tobacco, and leather. Nothing to complain about. Mouth (neat): really very Macallany. Figs, black chocolate, raisins, toasted brioche, drops of maple syrup… All goes very well here. With water: chocolate up, tea as well. Finish: rather long, and quite bright thanks to all these oranges that are coming to the rescue. Comments: an excellent Macallan, no doubt about that. I mean, an excellent Glendronach. SGP:551 - 89 points.

Glendronach 20 yo 1994/2014 (58.8%, OB, for Whisky Live Tokyo 2014, oloroso sherry butt, cask #44, 595 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: some minerality in this one, a little gunpowder and flints, then rather leather, prunes, and tobacco. Drier than the previous one, with also some dried beef and a wee drop of soy sauce. With water: cigars! Mouth (neat): rather big, with a lot of bitter oranges, and a wee sourness in the background. Sour apples, green pears… This one’s a tad rough, perhaps. With water: gets both smoother and even fruitier. Oranges as marmalade, as zests, and as juice. Fresh orange juice. Finish: rather long, and more honeyed. Hints of old Sauternes. Comments: all fine, really. SGP:451 - 86 points.

Glendronach 20 yo 1995/2016 (56.2%, OB, for China, oloroso sherry butt, cask #3033)

Colour: amber. Nose: this one’s very different, as it would rather start with ripe apricots and touches of rubber (rubber bands), before it becomes superbly tobacco-ish. Walnut wine, black earth, lovage, barbecue, perhaps a drop of miso soup or Thai bouillon… With water: gravel, soot, cigars, apricots, and more miso soup. Mouth (neat): those apricots again! Stewed, in pies, on tartes, as jams, nothing but apricots. The fact is, I love apricots. With water: same-ish, with touches of honey. Tastes a bit like a Sauternes finish that worked very well. How bizarre, eh! Finish: medium, creamy, and you guessed it, very apricoty. More honey in the aftertaste. Comments: so, really, oloroso? SGP:651 - 90 points.

(Thank you Derek)

Check the index of all Glendronach I've tasted so far