The Danish market got a series of exclusive bottlings from GlenDronach, a 9, a 10 and a 12 year old, nicknamed for Star Wars characters in relation to their color. Later, a 25 year old vintage 1992 was released and was sort of appended to the series, but I guess you could do that with any future Denmark exclusive bottling as you please.
The first release was a 9 year old released in a black tube, nicknamed – well before its release – ‘Darth Vader’. It was then followed by a 10 year old in a blue tube called ‘Luke Skywalker’ and ended with a 12 year old green bottle carrying the moniker ‘Master Yoda’. When a purple 25 year old was released, it was called ‘Mace Windu’.
For obvious reasons, no official link was made between the franchise and the whisky, and nothing official connects the releases, very much unlike the newer connection between the distillery and the Kingsman franchise, incidentally having a plot connection to whisky (well, whiskey, if I get technical) and even has a missed UK tax stamp showing on a supposedly US bottle which I’m sure everybody but me missed noticing 🙂
Enough about the movies, and on to the whisky!
GlenDronach 9 Years Old For Danish Market, 3000 Bottles, ‘Darth Vader” (48% ABV, NCF, NC)
Appearance: Copper, thick legs turning thin off a very sturdy and long lasting necklace.
Nose: Malty, PX, cloves, cinnamon and a young freshness. Some faint vanilla and dried fruit with touches of milk chocolate and a hint of perfume.
Palate: Spicy and sweet, with a sweet PX wave followed by a wave of pepper with hints of chocolate.
Linger: Long and dry, almost chalky, with spice on the tongue and around the gullet.
Conclusion
Not bad at all for a nine year old. The PX cask did all that was expected of it, which is not surprising, as GlenDronach tends to pair well with sherry in general and Pedro Ximenes in particular.