The GlenDronach Original Aged 12 Years Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 70cl

Product Information

Nose: Meaty, sherried nose with lots of dark red plum, chewing tobacco, and a savory quality – like glazed short ribs. Lots going on under the surface – thankfully not too sweet nor too fruity. Just right, in fact. After developing in the glass, there’s a little Maraschino cherry, and maybe some wood varnish. Development: Again, mild on my palate, but in an interesting and subtle way. I taste the sherry influence mostly at this point. Honey and syrup dominate, with some ginger and pepper sneaking through. Let this one linger on the middle of your tongue for a while -- mmmmm! My experience with Glendronach thus far is tasting the 15 and the 18 (I preferred the 15), one or 2 CS releases, and 2 single casks in their late teens (one of which was really good and my bottle of it will be opened when I retire from Medicine - it was distilled a month after I started Medical school).

It’s 12 years of tastiness all rolled up and dumped into a 750ml glass bottle. It’s a really nice, accessible and tasty single malt that just about anyone could easily grab off the shelf and enjoy. There’s enough complexity for “seasoned pros” to enjoy while not so overly complex that less experienced drinkers would feel lost or overwhelmed. It’s a simple, straightforward and tasty whisky that I’m enjoying every single second of. First, though, let’s get one thing straight: it is always folly to expect or assume that any whisky - or even any distillery - will remain exactly the same forever. This has never happened, because it's impossible. In the world of whisky, the concepts of Tradition, Consistency and Originality are shimmering, mutable, equivocal notions, as we shall see.If I’m reading all of this right, it would seem there’s been an information baby lost in the throwing out of the compliance bathwater. Perhaps the 43% ABV 12yo requires (and always has required) more filtering than the 46% ABV 15, 18 and 21-year-old siblings? But if so, why remove the SWA ‘non-compliant’ label from them all? The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. Thereafter, however, the picture gets rather more complicated. After the vintage statements were dropped various non-vintage Glendronach 12 year olds were bottled, still in the original dumpy green glass bottles. However, at some point in the late 1970s, after Glendronach’s parent company Teacher’s had been bought by Allied Breweries, the UK bottlings switched to 70 proof (40%). Italian and Spanish bottlings of the 12 year old remained at 43% for a little longer. Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”).

Taste: The breeze from the window carries in a warm draft of shortbread, apple and demerara-glazed vegetables, while the nighttime din of orange squash and chocolate covered orange peel serenades our slumber. We’ll go into the classificatory confusion another day, but first let’s look at Glendronach 12 Year Old in detail. Prior to the removal of the Non Chill Filtered statement, the salient characteristics of Glendronach 12 Year Old were as follows: You've gotta bloody right to say . . . Glendronach 12 is a rich, creamy sherry bomb that radiates flavor in your mouth even, though its strength registers at a mellow 43% ABV. But, hey, that's more than Highland Park 12's frugal 40%. In the long history of Glendronach 12 Year Old, the only one of these characteristics that has never changed is that it is 12 years old - and without that it wouldn’t be Glendronach 12 Year Old, so it doesn’t really count. Let’s see how this whisky has evolved. Glendronach distillery and Glendronach 12-year-old (Original or otherwise) are very good examples of this simple truth, as a cursory examination of its character and history will show. In fact, Glendronach distillery has had something of a chimerical character for at least the last fifty years. It’s worth remembering that for a considerable time in the relatively recent past there was no agreement even on which region Glendronach was a part of.If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The palate starts a bit metallic. There are subtle oak spices and sweet dark fruits. I am also getting a very little sulfuric touch. The aftertaste reveals some milk chocolate and the typical sherry influence. Lots of chocolate candy notes in this one. But where is the sherry? I just am not getting it at all. This is honey and choccies. And it is smoooooth. I still want to try the 15, but I like this enough as it is to not feel the need to pull the trigger on the 18. Not yet anyway. Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products.

Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise. Can I tell these apart? Sure. But can I tell if one has been processed differently from the other? Of course not.This expression, reviewed in a Highland whisky glass, is reviewed in my usual manner, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting. It’s fair to say that this particular tweak to what is a much-loved bottling has not gone over very well in some quarters. Having seen the strong reaction to the change on various social media fora, we thought it might be interesting to talk a little about the history of Glendronach 12 year Old to put the current furore into context. We’ll also discuss this particular change and how it may or may not affect Glendronach 12 Year Old. Nose: without water a bit restrained. Big oak, dried brown spices and woodpolish. With a few drops all the flowery and fruity notes appear. The oak gets softer and the polish makes way for sweet raspberry jam, rose petals and some waxy raisin, creamy chocolate and hazelnut. Both the GlenDronach 12 yo Original and the 15 yo Revival are among my favorite sherried whiskies. I regard them as subtle and complex versions of the same overall experience. If my tasting evening includes GlenDronach in the lineup, I'll include both expressions and enjoy the natural progression from one to the other.

Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.Glendronach has also incorporated a randomly selected team to blind taste samples on occasion. This team is ever-changing and can involve anyone from the production team, members of the bottling line, and gift shop workers. This means there is an additional level of quality control incorporated in the process– a bit more due diligence to ensure the liquid remains as it should. Taste: A good level of viscosity and weight from 43% ABV – delivering a bigger, brighter and richer sherried experience. Raspberries, oranges, cherries and pears alongside raisins and sultanas – perhaps with a tarter element – unripe plums or rhubarb for example. Plenty of chocolate here, sitting with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and some dusty oak. Fairly one dimensional, but perfectly tasty all the same. Reduction (which is far from needed) dampens the spicing, but ripens the fruits, it also adds some oloroso nuttiness into the mix. We may, but are not under any obligation, to release new functionalities and tools or other features for the Service every now and then. Any new functionalities, tools and features shall be part of and governed by the Terms from the moment they are launched and/or available. Further, we reserve the right to modify, change, discontinue the Service, add or remove features, update the Service, change its appearance, temporarily and permanently, at any time, in whole or any part thereof. In any case, I’m off to buy a 12yo Glendronach. That’s something I didn’t expect to say anytime soon. Thanks, Hamish and Dougie– this deep dive was needed. The nose offers nice and very sweet sherry. I have samples of sherry in my cabinet and the smell reminds me of Manzanilla or Oloroso, the Glendronach 12yo is not as sweet as pure PX. But of course this is irrelevant, the final whisky is what counts. I am getting aromas like sweet buttery (pop)corn, crème brûlée, honey, dark berries, ripe sweet apples, bananas and plum.