GlenDronach Original 12 Year

How much are you supposed to drink before you start paying attention? Umm...err...anywhoooo Finally grabbed a bottle of this after reading all the mostly positive reviews, plus my palate tens to align pretty well with Stephanie's and her review sounded tasty. My opening sentence was only partly in jest; this is one of those drinks that to me is elusive and difficult to pin down. The first nose shows a lot of generic fruit and a slight mustiness. A few sips later and I can pull leather and dust, and the fruits now smell like mincemeat instead of an edible arrangement that's sat out too long. The taste behaves quite the same; initial strong honeysuckle and then a blast of raisins, but subsequent trips to the well reveal that same leather as on the nose, and the raisins combine with the dust to become their slightly drier, more bitter, cousin, currants. There's Christmas spices throughout, and the rich, creamy mouthfeel is a plus. I was surprised to find the finish is actually quite long, leaving that bit of leather and a touch of honey to linger for a solid minute. I should be clear; this is not my preferred style of Scotch. My first sip made me think I'd bought a creamy Macallan, and anyone who's read my reviews knows I'm not a fan of that particular distillery. On second (and third, fourth, and now fifth) visit, I'm starting to see more to this than that first impression. I'm still not 100% certain that sherry doesn't require peat, but this bottle is helping me to work through that dilemma.

Nov 2019. Clear medium gold to amber. Tasted by small tulip glass. Awesome sweet maple syrup, toffee, sweet cherry wood syrup, raisin, sweeten raspberry and cedar wood in nose. Medium full body with cedar, dried herb, clove, cinnamon, raisin, wood tannin and bitter tree bark in the palate. Very attractive bouquet with good balance and spicy young go getter finish.

nothing stood out with this scotch but it could've been the sweeter whiskey i had tasted prior