GlenDronach Revival 15 Year (2018 Re-Release)

Rich, classic whisky. Drink by the fire!

Glendronach 12 is one of my favorite scotches. This older version doesn’t disappoint & at under $100 is a decent value. Nose: toasted caramel, tobacco, slightly smoked fruit hints of dusty oak Taste: rich sweet berries, vanilla, baking spices, malt I hear the old version was better but never had it to compare. Finished: medium

GlenDronach's brand reputation tanked when Brown-Forman decided to remove the 'non-chill filtered' from the label, but let's give this malt a chance. Appealing and rounded, the nose combines apricots, raspberries and cherry jam with walnuts, mint and baking spices. The light and juicy arrival is followed by drying oak, eucalyptus and dark chocolate. Black tea, orange zest and notes of coffee remain in the medium-length finish. It is a quaffable modern sherry whisky, but this 'Revival' comes nowhere close to the old batches released under Billy Walker. RATING: 3.9/5.0 stars ≙ 86 pts → FIRST-CLASS [-]

Nearing the end of this bottle, maybe one pour left. It’s very interesting to me to review a whiskey near the end of a bottle. I don’t usually finish a bottle very quickly. This one took almost 2 and a half years. I often find that my opinions have changed over time. Is it because my palate has matured? Is it because oxidation has opened up the whiskey? Is it because oxidation has been unkind to the whiskey? I don’t know. I do know that I am really enjoying these last few pours of this bottle, much more so than when it was freshly opened. Toffee, sherry and baking spice notes entice me on the nose and creamy palate, finish is lengthy with same notes. Pretty straight forward, but well done. Bravo!

BLIND TASTING Nose: sherry, hint of funk, slightly sour, baby powder Taste: chocolate, rye, warm, similar Tia hibiki or spice tree. Maybe a French oak influence? Slight peat

Quite a rich and complex dram that cycles through notes of cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, Demerara sugar, malt, dried fruits and tobacco. Big sherry influence and definitely worth a try.