GlenDronach 18 Year Old, Vintage 1995 PX Cask 3302 (53.7%)

Abbey Whisky’s blog was the first to carry the news that GlenDronach Batch 13 of single casks is about to hit the market. In the past, these releases have been eagerly awaited and have consistently delivered some of the best value on the market. Excellent whisky at very decent prices. Nowadays, the whisky is still just as excellent, but the prices are far less attractive. Not out of market range, mind you, but right on it.

On one hand, this is upsetting, as £125 for a bottle of 20 year old whisky is – objectively – a lot of money. On the other hand, this is 2016, and these are market prices today, and despite being objectively expensive, they are not unfairly priced. Compare that to my recent posts on the Royal Brackla pricing, asking for the same price as a 23 year old GlenDronach single cask at cask strength with no coloring or chill filtration as for  the Brackla 21 year old whisky presented at a miserly 40%…

Batch 12                   Photo Credit: whiskyintelligence.com

Batch 13 will include the following bottles:

GlenDronach 47 Year Old – 1968 / Cask 5837

Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead, RRP: £2139.99

GlenDronach 24 Year Old – 1991 / Cask 2361

Cask Type: Oloroso Sherry Butt, RRP: £166.99

GlenDronach 23 Year Old – 1992 / Cask 76

Cask Type: Oloroso Sherry Butt, RRP: £157.99

GlenDronach 23 Year Old – 1993 / Cask 40

Cask Type: Oloroso Sherry Butt, RRP: £157.99

GlenDronach 21 Year Old – 1994 / Cask 3274

Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon, RRP: £134.99

GlenDronach 20 Year Old – 1995 / Cask 3047

Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon, RRP: £123.99

GlenDronach 13 Year Old – 2002 / Cask 4651

Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon, RRP: £77.99

GlenDronach 12 Year Old – 2003 / Cask 930

Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon, RRP: £75.99

GlenDronach 12 Year Old – 2004 / Cask 5521

Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon, RRP: £75.99

Since stores get the information ahead of the normal PR releases, I expect the official announcement to be made in the next few days, possibly even today.

I’ll be reviewing a 2013 single cask released for as part of batch 9 in 2013, and what a classic cask this is….

Photo Credit: masterofmalt.com

GlenDronach 18 Year Old, Vintage 1995 PX Puncheon #3302, Distilled 21.4.1995, Bottled October 2013 (Batch 9), 677 Bottles (53.7%)

Appearance: Dark mahogany, quick thin legs and a lot of residue.

Nose: Reminds me a lot of the 15 Revival at cask strength, which I happened to have just before this dram, and one that was probably distilled right around the same time. Dried fruit with intense dried apricot leather, tobacco, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg galore, with the lightest whiff of coal smoke. Nothing but classic sherry matured GlenDronach.

Palate: Citrus peel, intense cinnamon all over the mouth, dried fruit and some strong sweetness. With the spice, only some pepper comes through, without the wood spice promised by the nose.

Linger: Long, sweet and peppery with a touch of dryness and light tobacco.

Conclusion

Very classic PX matured GlenDronach. Good wholesome whisky and utterly enjoyable. Yet, at the same tasting we also had an 11 year old which utterly blew my socks off, and which I’ll review next….

This was part of a GlenDronach night held with the Mishmar Ha’emeq whisky guys, slainte!