GlenDronach 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky Review

let’s begin

An excellent malt that is part of the core range at GlenDronach Distillery.

The Brand

GlenDronach is a distillery that goes way back to 1826, when they were started by James Allardice, a renowned Whisky businessman.

It’s been through some tumultuous times, having burnt down a decade after it opened.

Since then it’s not been doing too badly, and today it is owned by BenRiach, who bought it over in 2005.

You can visit GlenDronach and they are very welcoming. It’s a beautiful distillery, with the wonderful Scottish Highlands surrounding it, well worth a visit.

The MALT

The Glendronach 12 Year Old Whisky is part of the core range. It’s a brilliant example of a GlenDronach malt, with big notes of Sherry.

GlenDronach is well known for its Sherry flavour profile and they pride themselves on being “The Sherry Cask Connoisseurs”, and the Glendronach 12 Year Old is certainly a marker of that.

It brims with Sherry notes from the get go having been matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks.

Tasting notes for the Glendronach 12 Year Old

Bottle cost: £128

The nose opens with spicy cinnamon, nutmeg and Christmas cake. Rich dried fruits with malted barley appear, giving it a nice edge. Oak wood with hints of vanilla and thick caramel add a lovely sweetness, which ties in well with the fruit cake and spices.

The sweetness is really apparent on the palate, where it bursts into life. The oak wood is there as well, add lots of character. It is slightly like vanilla in flavour, with a delicate hint of earth.

Cinnamon abounds and adds a delicious kick of warmth, which enhances the flavour of the sweetness. Citrus fruits come through too, with a little bit of zest.

The fruit cake appeal is still very strong and adds a lovely mouth feel, with chewy dried fruit. Sweet nuts such as pecans and hazelnuts are also there, adding another dimension to the flavour.

The finish is mellow, with a gentle note of oak and caramel accompanied by citrus fruits.

If you want to get to know GlenDronach Whisky, then the Glendronach 12 Year Old is definitely the dram for you. The Sherried qualities are amazing and it really captures the spirit of the distillery.

What do you think of the Glendronach 12 Year Old? Let us know in the comments!

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Tags: GlenDronach Distillery

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.