Glendronach 12 : double casks or not ?

[bagou01]

Hi
This is my first post here and i hope i'll explain myself correctly (native french speaker so please forgive my english).
I am wondering if there is a difference between the two versions of Glendronach 12 i see in my usual shops:
One has "double casks matured in sherry wood and traditional oak barrels" written on the box, while on the other is written "matured in a combination of the finest pedro ximenez and oloroso sherry wood".
So i'm wondering, are they two different whiskies or are they the same but with different packaging?
is "sherry" some kind of "oak" ? which could mean they could be the same, if "traditional oak barrels" means "pedro ximenez"...
i have to admit i'm a bit lost...

thanks a lot in advance for all your answers !

[bagou01]

PS: i forgot to say, they are different alcohol percentage and price:
the "double casks..." is 40% (i think) and 45€ while the other one (which i bought), is 43% and 35€

[opelfruit]

"traditional" oak barrels are ex-bourbon casks, sherry casks are sherry casks.

Odd this, I thought that the current range of GlenDronach have the 12 year as a 43% made up of the 2 sherry cask types you have mentioned (PX and Olorosso).

...GlenDronach was mothballed back in 1996 and the current range was released in around 2009 when it was taken over by BenRiach.

So, 1996+12 = 2008......

It's highly likely that the 40% "double casks" is the older bottling of GlenDronach back when it was owned by Pernod Richard, and the 43% sherry cask is the new and current bottling.

So these are 2 different whiskies, the 40% one may actually be worth buying and keeping hold of to sell on at a later date.

[Ganga]

Glendronach has switched back and forth between offering a 12 yo and a 15 yo since the mid 1990s (US market). I am thinking that the 40% version you discuss is the one that was on the market circa 2000 to about 2004.

Pedro Ximenez is a sherry. "Sherry wood" is the oak vessel that previously contained sherry and not a wood.

[The Third Dram]

It's highly likely that the 40% "double casks" is the older bottling of GlenDronach back when it was owned by Pernod Richard, and the 43% sherry cask is the new and current bottling.

So these are 2 different whiskies, the 40% one may actually be worth buying and keeping hold of to sell on at a later date.

The original owner of Glendronach was, in fact, Allied Domecq (previously Allied Distillers). At that time, this company was not well-loved within most whisky circles, and had garnered a certain notoriety for neglecting its sites (including Laphroaig). In fact, how did Allied 'celebrate' the 170th-Anniversary of Glendronach? It shut down operations at the distillery. Pernod Ricard took over for a short stint, but the distillery site didn't seem to fit into that firm's greater plans.

As far as I'm concerned, the 12 Year Old 'Traditional', which dates from that era and is first described as combining the characteristics of plain oak (i.e. refill Scottish hogsheads), Bourbon and Sherry cask matured whiskies (Allied era), and subsequently described as being drawn from ex-Bourbon oak and ex-Sherry oak matured stocks (Pernod Ricard era), would only be of interest to an inveterate collector. I've tasted the first. It was a decent enough malt. In fact, I'm surprised there are still bottles of either of these versions kicking around.

Since Billy Walker and his team took over the distillery, however, matters have swung 180º for the better.

My take... Go for the newer edition.

[bagou01]

first, i want to thank you all for you answers.
then, i never received emails informing me that there was an answer to my post to i thought i'd phone at the source ant then i phoned at the distillery.
It was a bit difficult with the scottich accent but i managed to get it :
like some of you guessed, the "double casks" is the old passed one, from the previous owner era, and the actual is the one at 43% alcohol made of PX and oloroso.

and i want to thank you again for letting me understand that, all in all, every casks is made of oak, and "sherry" only means that that oak contained sherry. (did i get this correct?)

And i have to say, the guy at the phone at the distillery was nice like rarely heard, very great guy

[bredman]

and i want to thank you again for letting me understand that, all in all, every casks is made of oak, and "sherry" only means that that oak contained sherry. (did i get this correct?)

Yes. Scotch can only be aged in oak. As it's such a delicate spirit it's best aged in recycled casks and the majority of these casks are either ex-bourbon or ex-sherry. Port pipes and other wine casks are also used occasionally.

Ex-bourbon casks are American White Oak, ex-sherry casks are either European Oak or American White Oak. Not only do the previous contents add flavour to the spirit but the two wood types affect the spirit with different flavour profiles.