GlenDronach 1994 17 Year Old Cask #671
Who Let The Monster Out?
0 478
Review by @talexander
- Nose20
- Taste18
- Finish21
- Balance19
- Overall78
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- Brand: GlenDronach
- Type: Scotch
- Region: Speyside
- ABV: 54.9%
This sample was generously given to me by Conrad Gierer. I haven't been able to find out much about it, except that it is one of the Single Cask Glendronach releases. Distilled in 1994, it spent 17 years in a sherry butt (sorry, I don't know what kind of sherry).
The colour is a deep dark red. On the nose - big fat raisins, cloves and dark chocolate, all with a light ribbon of papaya, red grape and freshly ground espresso in the background. To say this shows "sherry cask influence" is a massive understatement! In fact, it's too much - what should be notes of baking spices is actually full-blown Angostura bitters. A bit of sulphur as well, but that note is tamed by water, which also adds some spice. If you love your sherry monsters, though, you'll think more of this than I do.
Very alcoholic on the palate, with more dates, raisins and a huge tannic quality, almost like red wine. More herbal, and less sulphuric, than the nose. There is some fruit in the background but, again, it's just too much full-on sherry. A bit of water helps, but there is still too much burn (and I've now added a fair amount) and with time, it becomes quite bitter. Challenging.
The medium-length finish is great though, full of more red grapes, cigar ash and Christmas cake. I've had many fantastic single cask GlenDronachs, who are masters with the sherry cask; unfortunately, this is not one of them. Far too overpowering - I can barely discern any malted barley spirit in this. Sherry lovers can go to town with this; to others, you have been warned.
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Guess I'm going to town. I tasted this when the bottle that led to your sample was opened. I was so overwhelmed with how good it was that I resolved to save my bottle for my retirement (it was distilled the year I started my medical studies).
The information I have on this cask is that it was number 1503 (which I know carries "excessive" significance), was distilled Nov. 11 1994 and bottled on August 2012 (so just shy of 18 years). The Oloroso sherry puncheon yielded 671 bottles.
@Nosebleed has assured me there will be some left for me to try when I return to Calgary this year (in a H2H with the 16 YO single cask we bought this year). Maybe it was great out of the block but has lost its way with air and time, though I think he gasses. Maybe it was the sample bottle. I will let you know.
but now you had me worried. I had essentially written off a bottle of 12 YO Bladnoch and then you gave your sample a great review, after which I retried it and enjoyed it. I'm scared that things will go the opposite way with this one.
@Paddockjudge may have something to say about this one. I believe he has (had?) a bottle of this open earlier in the year.