Showing posts with label GlenDronach Allardice 18 Years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GlenDronach Allardice 18 Years. Show all posts

GlenDronach Allardice 18 Years Review


Country: Scotland
Brand: GlenDronach Allardice
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Region: Speyside
Age: 18 Years
ABV: 46%

Colour: Deep Gold/Tawny

Nose: Complex. Dark Chocolate and sweet but not too sweet Oloroso Sherry followed by Leather, creamy Malt, Nuts and dried fruits (Apricots, Sultanas, maybe Orange peel). After a while the Malt on the nose gets more dominant.

Taste: The 46% guarantees a strong and spicy delivery (Cinnamon) with sweet Oloroso Sherry and Walnuts. A bit of Toffee and creamy Cake with Sultanas.

Finish: Lingering for a while but a bit on the dry side. Nutty. Strong Tea.

Rating: 85 

Nose: 22,5 – Taste: 21 – Finish: 20,5 – Overall: 21

General Remarks: Non-Chill Filtered, Natural Colour, Matured in Oloroso Sherry Casks from famous bodegas from the South of Spain. This expression is named after the founder of the distillery, James Allardice. This was around 1826. The distillery 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.

I added some water, which brought some Peat and Grassy notes to the nose and introduced extra sweetness to the palate and the finish. My advice therefore is to nose this Singe Malt neat but add a little water before tasting.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A very complex and interesting nose is once again not quite met by palate and finish. It’s certainly a well crafted Single Malt but I find it a bit boring. If you like to drink a good cognac after your Christmas dinner than this 18 Year Old Single Malt might be an interesting alternative. It certainly combines well with dark Chocolate and Nuts.
It will be interesting to see what the people from BenRiach will accomplish with the Glendronach Malt in the coming years. Certainly something to look forward to.

Jan van den Ende                                                              November 2, 2011