I Wish It Would Be Christmas Everyday!
Country: Scotland
Region: (Eastern) Highlands
Brand: GlenDronach Single Cask # 2042, Batch # 1 (Premiumcask)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 11 Years
ABV: 53.9 %
Sample Provided By: Thorsten, Germany. Thanks!
Date: 06/03/2014
Colour: Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry. One of the Darkest Single Malts I've tasted so far.
Nose: Sweet and quite Mature for an 11 Year Old Single Malt. The Sherry is there but certainly not in an overwhelming way. I find Strawberry Flavoured Yogurt, Milk Chocolate, Honey, Toffee/Caramel, Creme Catalan, Oak, Cake, Butter Kekse (German Butter Biscuits), Marzipan, Red Fruit, Almonds, Cinnamon and Orange Peel. The Alcohol is nicely integrated. A very nice and not too heavy combination of Sweet Aromas.
Palate: Sweet but also more Spicy now than on the Nose. I find Red Fruit (Grapes rather than Strawberry), Red Wine, Toffee/Caramel, Demerara Sugar, Walnuts, Dried Fruits (Raisins, Sultanas), light Sherry, Chocolate, Oak, Pepper and Cinnamon.
Finish: Long and Sweet with Strawberry Ice Cream, Red Fruits, Milk, Toffee, Walnuts, Oak, Pepper, Nutmeg and Cinnamon.
Despite the high ABV, the Alcohol is perfectly integrated and there is no need to add Water to this GlenDronach. If you must, add a couple of drops only.
Rating: 88.5
Nose: 23 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 22 - Overall: 22
General Remarks: The GlenDronach Distillery was founded in 1826 in Forgue (Aberdeenshire). It was sold in 2005 by Pernod-Ricard to the owners of the BenRiach Distillery (Billy Stewart and partners). Premiumcask DE, located in Fichtenberg, Germany is a starting exclusive On-Line Shop, founded in 2013 by Thorsten Niesner. The GlenDronach 11 Years I am tasting today was distilled on July 12, 2002 and bottled exclusively for Premiumcask on November 7, 2013. It matured in Ex-Pedro Jimenez Sherry Puncheon # 2042. A total of 660 bottles were available at a price of around 110 US Dollars. But I'm told they are selling very well. In April 2013, Batch # 2 will be available. This time it's gonna be an 18 Years PX Cask GlenDronach distilled in 1995. Look forward to that one as well!
Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good
Conclusion: On the Nose this GlenDronach offers mostly Sweet but very nicely balanced Aromas. The Sherry never dominates and I can't find any traces of Sulphur. The Palate is perhaps slightly less balanced and Bourbon-like Flavours and Spices are wrestling for supremacy with the Red Fruits and Caramel. Here the relative young age of this Single Malt is more noticeable. Still, very nice! The Finish is very long and has a wonderful Strawberry Ice Cream Flavour. I added half a point for that specifically. To sum it all up, both Glenfarclas and Premiumcask did an excellent job! The result is a Sweet Full-Flavoured Single Malt, to be savoured after a nice dinner or simply when you got something to celebrate!
Jan van den Ende March 2014
4 comments:
Dear Jan,
what a mouthwarterin review! Actually, Glendronach is one of my absolute favorites - regarding stadard OBs I love the 15yo "revival" very much. But, I have also tasted several single casks, of course. You have to like heavily sherried whiskies of course - which I certanily do - but Glendronach's big spirit can cope with that.
What I like most is that Glendronach is sticking to age statements and additionally offers many single cask versions - and the pricing is fair. So they somehow are against the trend of overpriced NAS bottlings with fancy names or bizarre finishings....
Have a nice weekend!
Cheers
Björn
Thanks Bjorn! I'm sure you would like this one although it's not a Sherry Bomb as they say. The Sherry is there but it does not dominate the other flavours. Which I think is great! A Great Weekend to U2!
Cheers!
Jan
Hi Jan,
these Single Casks can be really great, although there seem to be thousands of them... But to find a quite balanced Whisky in an 11 yo bottling isn´t always the rule. I could taste an old version from 1972 a few days ago, and it was really stunning. Good to see, that the younger ones also seem to be worth buying.
Cheers
Hey Marcus, Indeed this cask was very mature for an 11 years old, especially on the Nose. And the Sherry wasn't too dominant but combined well with the other Aromas and Flavours. Very Nice Glendronach indeed!
Cheers
Jan
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