Glendronach Forgue is the distillery’s first expression aimed specifically at the duty free market. This, I think, is Brown Foreman’s first real fingerprint on the distillery’s output. There will also be a 16 year old GlenDronach specific to travel retail, but I’m thinking this won’t be another run of the German and South African Platinum bottlings. Also from Brown Foreman, BenRiach will be releasing a 10 year old triple distilled expression for travel retail. This is coming with a company wide focus which will include also the American whiskey brands: Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve.
The Brown Foreman move echos the travel retail moves Glenmorangie has been making over the past few years. That is creating specific travel retail expressions bottled at 43% and being distinct from the core range. The Forgue is named for the valley in which GlenDronach is situated. This is another parallel with Glenmorangie, who names its travel retail series expressions for geographic locations. The Forgue is matured in both Oloroso and in Pedro Ximénez casks, but is much lighter in color than the core expressions from the distillery. This is not what you would call a sherry bomb.
The expression is neither chill filtered nor is it artificially colored.
GlenDronach Forgue 10 Year Old, Travel Retail Exclusive (43% ABV, NCF, NC)
Appearance: Gold with a reddish tinge. Residue remains on the glass.
Nose: Warm with malt and citrus peel, baking bread, hint of cinnamon and a bit of minerals. There’s also a hint of brown sugar and some wood spices.
Palate: Spicy and viscous, pepper, citrus peel and a hit of green cardamom and some white tea. There’s a bit of the fullness of GlenDronach missing from the palate.
Linger: Citrus rind and white pepper, spices sit around the gullet. It has a long finish with a bit of coffee and a hint of milk chocolate.
Conclusion
It’s not bad, but it isn’t as good as the 12.
However, if I remove my “anorak” cap for a moment, an honest assessment would put it right on par with the Glenmorangie travel retail expressions. Moreover, considering the market segment it’s aiming for, it’s a step up from many of the expressions available at your average airport. It’s definitely drinkable, but will not offer better VFM than your 12 year old.
Mr. Deby brought this bottle back from Cyprus, and promptly invited me to see if I liked it. Cheers!