Stronachie 12 Year Old

Many moons ago, there was a distillery in the Highlands by the name of Stronachie. It was founded in the 1890s, but closed again in 1928 by the then owners, St James Export Company Ltd. Around 1950 the buildings were demolished. The label Stronachie was represented by Dewar Rattray since 1890. It was that company, now known as A.D. Rattray, that got hold of a bottle of Stronachie from 1904 during an auction in 2002. The took a sample and decided to try to create a new Stronachie, based on the old recipe. The distillery that matched the profile the best was Benrinnes, they decided.

The nose is very sweet on grain, caramel, apples and pears. It also hints at tea. A touch of woodsmoke is present, but very soft. Some woodshavings and even some chewing tobacco.

It has a nice body and attacks pretty piquant. Gingerbread and cake with loads of fruits. Raisins on syrup. Spicewise, I am thinking nutmeg, cloves and especially cinnamon. Again some woodsmoke and even a trace of peat.

The softly fading finish is very nice and long.

Well, who would have thought? This is just plain good. But the whole story about the revival of the Stronachie label seems a bit farfetched. We will probably never know, but do you honestly believe the Stronachie then and the Benrinnes today are so much alike? I do not think so.

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