Soba45
GlenDronach Allardice 18 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
January 5, 2017 (edited April 14, 2020)
I really love this whisky. I much prefer the viscosity/ oiliness of a Glendronach over thinner spirits such as Glenfarclas. Also the toffee flavour of Olorosso cask influence vs the much sweeter PX. This was one of the 18 yr bottles that contained much older stock so it'll be interesting to see how the next bottle I buy turns out
Ok update a 3 years later and a new bottle...one of the last from Billy Walker. Has it held it's own against time and my evolving palette? The answer is a firm yes. Now a 4.75 is a bit high on my current rating scale it's more a 4.25 on an off day (for my palate) and 4.5 on a good one. This dram on a clean palate may initially be a bit reticent and not fully come into it's own but man does it do well as a final night cap. Given this is a recently opened bottle I know it'll mellow, evolve and shine further in it's lifetime on my shelf.
Update. Yeah back to 4.5 to 4.75 territory already. There really isn't anything like it.
Update 2: Well yes there is it appears. In a later match up between this, the original 15 Revival and the new the old 15 yr was a winner 4.75. This and the new 15 pretty close.
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@Ctrexman Its just a different beast (well the old one was not sure about the new GD 15). The old GD 15 was toffee toffee toffee the 18 less strong in that aspect. I'd rate them more or less equally. When I crack open my new GD 15 sample and compare it to an old GD 18 bottling I'll give my verdict and let you know :-)
I understand diminishing return and such and realize its not twice as good. Is it significently better than the 15 or just a bit in your opinion
@Ctrexman I think it's personal preference. A number of people loved the 15 more (the old variant). For me both were great just different. Not worth twice the price. The price differential of new GD 15 to Old GD18 is only 20% here though so definitely!
This sounds absolutely amazing. I loved the 15yr...this is almost twice the price, still worth it?
@WhiskeyLonghorn Yip you're right it really opened up nicely. Like drinking sherried toffee...damn dangerous!
@LeeEvolved Haha Ah she's doing just fine despite our bitching :-)
@WhiskeyLonghorn @Soba45 - Rachel Barrie is coming for you...both.
@WhiskeyLonghorn Yes that's what I love about these old GDs they just keep getting different and better, most other stuff fades for me after 6 months
I'm two and a half months into my late Billy Walker bottle, and it does open up more. Much more fudgy, toffee notes that come out, and it takes less time to open up. Those 20+ years in the cask left it pretty tightly wound, and it needed time to air out.