My quest to find the best 15 year old sherried Scotch had led me to a show down between this and the Tamdhu 15. All of this now seems a little moot since Glendronach appears to have had somewhat of a senior moment in regards to public relations, and I really should look at Glengoyne and perhaps Glenallachie as other suitable contenders.
Still, I've reviewed this 're-Revival' previously, which prompted me to pick up another couple of bottles as I enjoyed it the sample that much (90 points). So how will a bottle from 2020 fare?
Review is with a wee splash of water and the bottle has been open about four months with two thirds left.
Nose - rich and spicy with blonde tobacco, old, dry dates, leather, lots of complex ginger notes, a touch of mint and mocha. Prickly.
Taste - Rich mouth-feel, lovely actually - it feels thick! More tobacco, mocha and gingery spices. Some sweetness comes from fresh, sticky dates and a hint of red fruits (cherry syrup?).
Finish - med - long. Pleasant gingery spice, light toffee and some gentle tannins.
This is perhaps a little less enjoyable than the sample I had a couple of years ago but it is still excellent whisky. Not as sweet as one would imagine given the inclusion of both PX and Olorosso casks, and I really like the tobacco and leather notes - they don't dominate in any way (I'm looking at you Benromach ;). Nicely balanced, sherried whisky with a bit of a kick. Yes, please.
@Wierdo - did you see the latest ralfy vlog on this? He had the same reply from them whilst they also requested he correct a few things which, under scrutiny, we're shown to be accurate in the first place e.g. 'we are are a family owned business not a corporate global multi national'. Erm, a quick Google says otherwise
He handled it really well.
It just seems such a silly choice to make at this current time. Especially when most folk buying whisky are 'in the know' and fully understand, and have experience of, the benefit of non-chill filtering. Their defence simply doesn't stand up. They can't now be said to be giving customers what they want, and that is poor form. And worse, they are digging their heels in and hiding behind corporate BS, which is not a good look either.
@BlueNote and also 'optimise consistently exceptional quality' whilst introducing a procedure known to reduce the overall quality of the product.