GlenDronach 12 Years Review


Country: Scotland 
Region: Highland - Speyside
Brand: GlenDronach
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age:  12 Years
ABV:  43 %
Date: 22/04/2013

Colour: Dark Amber

Nose: Very Nice and Well-Balanced in a Comfortable Way. Lovely Sherry but not too dominating. Fruitcake soaked in Orange Liqueur with lots of Raisins, Nuts, Grapes and Plums. Malt, Brown Sugar, Floral Tones and Vanilla/Oak. Warm Wine with Spices. A hint of Peat in the background. 

Palate: Warming with Malt, Sherry, Red Fruit (Berries, Grape) Cinnamon, Pepper, Dried Fruits and Nuts, Coconut, Orange Peel and Buttered Toast. This GlenDronach deserves to be bottled at 46%.

Finish: Middle-Long with Malt, Toffee, Charred Oak, Licorice, Orange Marmalade, Aniseed, Vanilla and a touch of Dark Chocolate.

I added a bit of Water and the Malt, Fruit and Vanilla flourish. Palate and Finish do not improve in my opinion. This GlenDronach is better sipped neat.

Rating: 86

Nose: 21.5- Taste:  21.5  - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5


General Remarks: This distillery was founded around 1826  by James Allardice. It is located in South-East Speyside, close to the town of Huntly. It belonged to Allied Distillers for a long time and was closed between 1997 and 2003. Since 2008 it’s in the hands of BenRiach, which promises great expressions for the near future. The 12 years matured in a combination of Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry Casks. It's not artificially coloured and not-chill filtered. Great value for money at around 45 US Dollars!

Drinking Experience Neat:  Good

Conclusion: A great desert whisky to end a fine December dinner. But also great to enjoy while reading a good book. A well-crafted Speysider at a very reasonable price. Excellent interplay between Malt and Sherry. One of those standard bottles you should consider adding to your cabinet. Good, solid stuff!

2 comments:

Whiskycuse said...

I have tasted this malt from a 5cl Mini, and I was a bit disappointed considering the lack of complexity and character. Maybe the content was a different one. There is a new version of the 12 yo on the market, maybe I should taste it again...

Marcus

Jan van den Ende said...

Hey Marcus, Mine was a 5cl Mini as well. Bought it from TWS. Whisky Tasting (or any other tasting for that matter) is very personal. And that's fine. Otherwise one whisky review site would be sufficient! Cheers!