LouisianaLonghorn
GlenDronach Original 12 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
August 29, 2019 (edited October 18, 2019)
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!
55.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@cascode gotta love the PX finish. It’s a tossup whether I like that or a port finish more.
@WhiskeyLonghorn Great review. This is one of my go-to drams that is always in the house - apart from anything else it's a great frist sherry mini-bomb for novices that I can enjoy just as much! Yes, I'm a PX head too - handled well as a finish it can do miraculous things. Cheers!
@jonwilkinson7309 Ah interesting. I'm in NZ so sadly I miss out on the Distiller group sharing that @PBMichiganWolverine, @LeeEvolved, @Generously_Paul and others do. Master of Malt was my go to. Now found a site in Australia much cheaper.
@Soba45. Until recently, there were some good whiskey buying and trading groups on Facebook. Unfortunately, Facebook recently cracked down. Probably they were nervous of the backlash that would ensue if the general public learned about it and decided that minors were getting their alcohol fixes by buying nice Scotches and bourbons in two ounce increments. I've also ordered a lot of samples from thewhiskeyexchange.com and finedrams.com. And I'm always open to sharing and trading.
@Soba45 well that’s a bummer. Still a solid dram though.
@jonwilkinson7309 thanks for answering my questions and confirming my suspicions about the Lasanta. Also, I’m with you. I prefer a port finish above all else.
@WhiskeyLonghorn Part of it was for a while due to the distillery being closed for a period from 1996 to 2001 they used much older stock for their age range. A 2009 to 2013 12 yr batch would have been at least 14 years old and up to 18 years for the 2013 release. I suspect given the reviewer reviewed in 2014 that's what she had.
@jonwilkinson7309 Ah nice how you get a sample of the TP?
Having now tasted it, I can answer all three questions - (1) I definitely prefer this over the Lasanta because the finish is much nicer - better integrated and not overwhelming. (2) The only other Glendronach I've tried is the peated, which is excellent. I have a bottle on order. I have a sample of the 15 year tawny port in the queue, which I suspect I'll love (all other things being equal, I'll go with port finish any day). (3) The Distiller review, written in 2014, mentions the heating method for distillation was being changed. I'd be interested to try old direct fire distilled version. In addition to some different flavors, I wonder if it would cut the astringency on the finish.
@Soba45 bummer. Though that seems to be a growing sentiment among the big houses. Supply not keeping up with demand, or maybe environmental or economic factors have a part to play...
@WhiskeyLonghorn Glendronach
@Soba45 do you mean for Glendronach or Glenmo?
Oh and finally the high expert score was based on the older batches. I've tried a few over the years and they have gone down hill a bit.
And better than the Lasanta I had but that was a long time ago for both.
Great review :-). As to number 2. Definitely the 18 year..older stock is really good..probably a bit still with retailers. It's the only bottle I have 2 of
The comparison to the Lasanta is interesting. I had high hopes for it because I think the Glenmorangie 10 is a very nice starting point. Unfortunately, I found the cask finish influence to be too strong - to the point that the fruit flavors seemed unnatural, like flavored cough syrup. And I'm not generally put off by sweetness. I have a sample bottle of the Glendronach 12 that I'm going to move to the front of the line. Based on your review, I suspect I'll find it to be more agreeable than the Lasanta.
@Rick_M I was GUTTED I never got to try that one. I loved all the other variants around that time e.g. virgin oak. So cheap as well. That and 15 year Revival I could have picked up for $60USD
@WhiskeyLonghorn - excellent review! I need to visit this distillery more, because felt their 15yo Tawny Port was outstanding (4.75). Too many whiskies, too little time. :)