GlenDronach Original 12 Year

This bottle comes highly recommended, and rightly so. There's a lot to enjoy here, including a creamy maltiness, well balanced wine finishes, an affordable price tag, and some outstanding packaging, which I normally don't go in for, but you gotta appreciate the details. Here's the good stuff. Lots of caramel and vanilla on the nose (but not in the bourbon way). The wine finishes are on the nose, but not overwhelming like in Aberlour or Tamdhu. The master distillers at Glendronach have clearly spent a lot of time tinkering with the blend of the different finishes. The palate is full of sweetness from the PX and roundness from the Olorosso, which lingers on into the finish. Around the mid-palate, the malt shows up and doesn't disappoint, determined not to be overshadowed by the sherry. Right at the end there's a smoky/toffee note that is a most intriguing combination. Now the other stuff. My biggest gripe with this malt is the finish. At 43%, it still comes off a bit thin, almost watery at the end. There's also an astringency (either from the barrel or the finish) that lingers far to long. I will say this about the wine finishes. There's a hotness on arrival from the Olorosso, as well as a mild astringency on the finish, but there's this delightful sweet, roundness in the mid-palate from the PX (Full disclosure, I'm more of a fan of PX than Olorosso). If you can find this bottle for a good price, by all means buy it. No regrets on this purchase, and a core malt for experiencing sherry finished Scotch. I am however left with a few questions that maybe you, dear reader, can answer. 1) How does this stack up against Glenmorangie Lasanta, which is also a Highland Single Malt with the same finishing, 2) Despite the high "expert rating" here, are there other Glendronach options you'd recommend over this one, and 3) I know that taste is so subjective and we all experience whisky a little different, but what would you suggest to improve this dram? Cheers!

A great Highland Scotch. I love the Sherry cask influence.

First time tasting anything by Glendronach and I’m not disappointed. Nose: heavy HEAVY dark fruits and caramel rounded off by a vanilla mustiness. I keep reading that this is supposed to be slightly smokey, but I don’t smell it at all. Taste: spicy, smooth Carmel gives way to dark cherries, raisins, red apples, slight red grapes. The finish lingers for a long time with barrel tannins I usually find in bourbon, heavy cream, and shell on peanuts. All and all, awesome whiskey. It doesn’t really take me anywhere I’ve never been before, but it’s extremely solid.

Nose: Dark with a warming sweetness. Dried plums. Candied fruits (orange peels?). All covered by a woody character. Lovely. I can sniff this again and again. Palate: Though there are certainly elements of the same notes as on the nose, the palate is a bit dissapointing in my opinion. There is an oaky bitterness and the taste is not quite as sweet as on the nose. A but earthy (in a good way though - like really dark chocholate). Finish: Medium-length. The oak lingers more than the fruits. A nutty taste. Overall: I had the bottle for some time and my opinion on this whisky varied from dram to dram. The nose was always great though. Some days I would have scored it over 4, but some days in the 3.25-3.5 range. I put 3.5 in the end as I, though it definitely had some really great moments, probably wouldn’t buy it again. Note though that I’m not a sherry-fan overall (unless peated), but I hope to find a whisky to change my mind.