GlenDronach Original 12 Year

Leather, slight spice, sweetness, honey, watery. Overall lacking in flavour and density for the price.

Even though I usually like this one I absolutely hated it on this tasting. My notes were: “Cherry, medicine, and death”. Usually I like Glendronach quite a lot so I dunno what happened here.

I bought this recently for about US$65, which, in my opinion, is a steal. Bottles are climbing higher and I’m worried we’ll be hard pressed to find most 12-years under $100. I hope I’m wrong. Nose: creamy caramel and vanilla, honey, nuts, plum, raisins. Taste: very balanced mix of the candied fruits and rich sherry influence. A little ginger and baking spices on the palate as well. Finish: medium, even Great, great scotch. So consistent and hopefully still a good value on the shelf. Many get peat from this one but I only occasionally detect the smoke on the mid palate. Not much of it elsewhere.