GlenDronach Allardice 18 Year

This a very mellow whisky with rich and deep aroma. Lovely colour as well.

I am using a burgundy glass, yes that wine glass, to enjoy this dram. A way better performance than the Glencairn glass. Nosing: Berries, tobacco, plum, dark chocolate, a slight hint of toffee. Sweet fruit cake notes, maybe black forest? Some nutty notes, maybe caramel cashew? Also dark orange chocolate! Mouth: hazelnut, dark chocolate, some tobacco notes. Finishing: long, sweet notes. Hazelnut again and that Black Forest cake is coming out again. Also a coffee note is lingering.

Nose: Raisins and figs, cream puffs, light maple and cocoa notes, hints of baking spice. Velvet texture, not smooth like the 12. But clearly more complex. Though depends on your mood. Not your daily sipper. Opens up with time and gets smoother. The sherry wood has a strong presence here, heavy on the tannins, which is not generally my preference but this handles it well because there’s a lot more going on. While it’s a nice dram and I’d definitely accept it for my bar, I’m not sure I’m going to be buying a bottle soon.

Needs time in the glass to open up. When it does you’ll be rewarded with a big bold arrival of stewed fruit, apple pie and almonds. Bananas, apple, raisins and white pepper wood spice on the finish. Too balanced to deserve the ‘sherry monster’ tag - there’s nothing monstrous about this beautiful dram.