Responces to Glendronach 12 (OB)

[Frodo]

Hi all:

A friend of mine was given a bottle of Glendronach 12 (OB) by his boss. He is asking me for a review of what it tastes like. The only time I've had Glendronach was a while ago, and I got one of the heavily sherried expressions. It was unbalanced, unremarkable, and tasted like whisky flavoured sherry.

I heard that the newer OB's are now a vatting of sherry and bourbon casks and taste a little differently. Can anyone confirm or speak to this?

The tasting notes on "whiskies of the world" indicate nutty, and silky, but not a remarkable dram. Can anyone give me an idea from their own experiances?

Any help would be much appretiated.
Frodo

[Tom]

Hi frodo,
I only sampled the 15Y old sherry cask and a 9Y old vintage from 1987 Signatory, rated both 85.
Sorry, no notes on the 12Y old.

[Tyson]

The 12 is a far better dram than the 15 was. More balanced, and actually a bit smoother. Much less sherried, to it's benefit, IMO.

[Mr Fjeld]

Sorry for digging up this old thread but I was wondering if some of you have had any experience with the Glendronach 12 lately? I haven't heard much about this whisky but understand it was reopened in 2003?

Skål!
Christian

[Lawrence]

Yes, it's active and it has a new visitor center opening this year (I think it's already open).

Lawrence

[Mr Fjeld]

Thanks for the info Lawrence!

Skål!
Christian

[Admiral]

The new 12yo Glendronach comes in a red tube, and I THINK it has been coined "The Original". (or was it "The Traditional"?). Can't quite remember.

What I do remember is tasting it six months ago in a fairly dedicated and attentive tasting session. It was a pleasant enough dram, and it certainly lacked the sherry sweetness of the previous 15 year old. I was reasonably happy with it, although my other panel members around the table were less impressed. I scored it 7.3, but I think the average score ended up being 6.9 or 7.0.

I can post my full notes for you, if you like.

Cheers,
Admiral

[Mr Fjeld]

Thanks a lot Admiral Really appreciate it! I've decided to widen my experience a little and this includes Glendronach (together with Aberlour 10, Cragganmore 12, Auchentoshan Threewood and Glengoyne 10) .

Skål!
Christian

[Wendy]

Hi Christian,
It is rather good timing for me that you decided to revisit this thread. The LCBO is currently selling the GlenDronach 12 yo for $41 in their "Whisky Rocks" promotion. I can't remember the colouring of the container but it did say "The Original". I was thinking of purchasing it, but paused as I wanted to read up about it before adding it to my cupboard. I appreciated reading Admiral's notes. This past April, at a Quaich dinner, I tried the GlenDronach 14 yo. Unfortunately, I did not write my thoughts down. I will look forward to reading your impression of the 12 yo if you do decide to buy it.
Cheers,
Wendy

[The Dazzler]

My understanding on how the latest 12yo Glendronach was created is that it was firstly matured in Sherry Butts and then transferred for further maturation American Oak casks, therefore a double matured malt in the opposite way of Balvenie 12yo etc.

Slainte

[Lawrence]

Yes, they are making claims about finishing in bourbon casks. I had it at a rather informal tasting a short while ago and think my impression was biased by the previous malts sampled that night.

I will try it again.

[Mr Fjeld]

Wendy and Dazzler - thanks for your interest and info on the Glendronach. Think I'm going to buy it next month due to a visit to the vet with my dog Oscar was a bit more expensive than I had expected.
I'll update you with my impression of it when the time is due - but I wouldn't be surprised if Wendy beats me to it

Skål!
Christian

[PeatPirate]

Hi all,

I like the Glendronach 15 Y which is taken out of production by the distillery, as you all probably know. I posted tasting notes of the 12 year from the following source:

http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Gle ... h_EN.shtml

It's a nice whisky site with a lot of tasting notes. The site is originally in French, but has a version in English.

Glendronach 12 Y OB

The nose is exceptionaly sweet. The first nosing is very discrete, but later a kind of diluted sherry smell becomes obvious. This comes from the special maturation process this bottle has had: long years in sherry casks, and bourbon as a finishing cask. The exact contrary of most of the sherry finish whiskies. The palate is discrete too, with a kind of bitter vanilla which is rather unique. A relatively short finish, with honey hints. An very interesting bottle.

This tasting notes makes me curious. Think I'm going to try one myself in the near future.

And please keep giving granny a bottle of sherry for her birthday, so good sherry whisky's can also be produced in the future

Slainte and Grtz. PP

[Admiral]

And please keep giving granny a bottle of sherry for her birthday, so good sherry whisky's can also be produced in the future

That's one of the funniest, yet most profound and true comments I've ever read here!!!!!

Actually, I did used to give my mum a bottle of Harvey's Bristol Cream each year. I never realised I was doing the whisky industry a favour!!

Cheers,
Admiral

[Deactivated Member]

Geez, Admiral...do you suppose Harvey's is barrel-aged?

On the same line, I've been giving silent thanks to all the JD and bourbon drinkers, as well.

[Wendy]

Hello,
This week I opened my bottle of Glendronach Original 12 and I must say, I have really enjoyed it. I have not tasted the 15, so I can't compare the sherry impact from one to the other. I can only best describe the 12 yo as "a little bit of everything" that I enjoy - first sip is like the sweet fruity taste of encouragement that opens to a quick 'woof' of woodsy, dry spice of life. It is an interesting dram because two nights ago, I think I would have described it quite differently.

I would be interested to hear some of the sherry officianados and critics of comments.

Thanks,
Wendy

[Novice Scotch Fan]

The last post on this thread was five years ago. Just wondering if anyone has tried a recent bottling (ie. 2009 or 2010) of Glendronach and their thoughts?

[Ganga]

I have had several different batches of the 12 except for the most recent bottlings. The 12s (bourbon and a sherry) were so far out in front of the more recent bottlings. Also, the 15 from the 1990s tasted like sherry...high proof sherry.

[Novice Scotch Fan]

I impulsively picked up a bottle mainly because I know GlenDronach is a core sinle malt of the great economy blended scotch, Teacher's Highland Cream. After I bought it, for a low price (ie. $46) I started second guessing myself. Hence, I wanted input from others on this single malt.

Anyway, I appreciate the input, and what follows is my preliminary tasting note based upon opening and immediately tasting the latest bottling of the 12 year old single malt.

Here is the tasting note:

Nose (undiluted)
very sherried. Not particularly elegant. Let's hope it tastes more exceptional than what is presented on the nose.

Palate (undiluted)Quite sherried. Lightly spiced. Sweet red fruits like black currants and strawberries. Very light peat. Medium bodied.

Finish (undiluted)Fairly short. Some cherry, raisins and cloves linger as long as a smoke ring from a cigar.

Nose (diluted)Addition of water makes the aromas less sherried and more floral. Maybe dandelions.

Palate (diluted)
More creamy. The sherried flavors still dominate, but less so.

Finish (diluted)Flavors linger much less with water added. Sherry flavor still there but transitions to carmelized onions. A flavor that neither adds nor detracts to the over all tasting. In general, I prefer drinking this single malt without water.

General Impressions
An average, middle of the road, girl next door, 12 year old single malt. Not bad, but not great. The flavor profile is straight forward. No complexity to speak of. That being said, its low price makes it attractive. This is a good scotch for someone wanting to venture into the realm of single malts. It's a nice place to start. No bite or bitterness on the palate. Easy to like. Not grainy and basically not offensive in any fashion. Over all, I am happy with this recent purchase because the price was very reasonable. This represents good value for money. When you just want a nice scotch while you watch the game or chill out in the backyard after a long day, this works well. I wouldn't pull this out for your scotch fan or the father-in-law you seek to impress. This is a "go-to" economy 12 year old single malt for the budget minded person.