dhsilv2
GlenDronach Allardice 18 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
September 5, 2019 (edited May 8, 2021)
Bottled 2/25/2019 (oddly they use our backwards american month day system) - so yes this might be 24 year old scotch or at least 23 and a lot of change. Having just had a 1992 single cask, cask strength, this isn't all first fill but god it's lovely.
Nose - berry's, figs, cherries, touch of chocolate, and a bit of nuts and some oak. As I let it open up I'm getting some baked goods.
Taste - Oh my, this is old whisky. There's this feeling you get in your mouth when you have really old stuff in there. It's the alcohol and the oak seeping into your cheeks and gums, the sweet up front but then leading to this transition where oak comes about...oh my. Chocolate, dark fruits, a touch of spice, walnuts, oak dusty oak. Wonderful.
So here's where I am. I just had, but couldn't review, a 1992 glendronach. That's a 5 sherry bomb. This isn't close to that. But it's crazy good too. 160 bucks (I know you can get it way less in the UK). Is it worth it? Yes. If you like sherry this is a must get. I'm going 4.25. It's just that good.
160.0
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@Soba45 her name certainly isn't connected with quality to say the least. I should note that the tasting notes also changed. I had originally thought some mild changes to the tube was uk vs us release as the newest bottle is a UK bottling. maybe not.
@dhsilv2 Be interested to know what the Rb juice is like. Old stock is one thing but I've had truely terrible old single barrels she's released (although to be fair most of the single barrels were good especially the younger teenage ones)
@Soba45 so Feb 2019 was Billy, nov 2019 was Rachel. all words I get are early 2020 will be the oldest stock, then the word is they will start to phase in the old juice I with younger stuff. but its a good question with changing of the guard.
@dhsilv2 I just had a thought. Out of interest if it was a 2019 dated bottling what is the master distiller signature on the bottle casing/box and bottle? Bill Walker or Rachel Barrie? Back to our earlier conversation about old or new stock i.e. when was the cut over. I thought the distillery reopened in 2001 however people say it was May 2002 before new distillate was made so the maths indicate you are right and 2019 must be old stock. What i'm trying to figure out is if 2019 wasn't the cut over why did stock run out? Was it that they just didn't want to use much older stock and so severely rationed rather than discontinued the bottlings? Also Billy had long gone by 2019 so if Rachel Barrie did the blending her name should be on it. Billy's name was on the 2018 bottlings but again he had long disappeared so is it a case that before he left he pre planned the blending of stock or it actually was blended so there was a stock to keep them going until 2020 in which case later bottlings wouldn't be older or even though he isn't the owner he still agreed to blend the 18 until switch over...a giant mystery to me!
@Ctrexman You should email them and see. You might have just got the very very last of the old batch maybe. MoM did run out earlier in the year I think so it's odd they couldn't get any of that stock until Sept. mystery dram!
@cascode yeah but I wanna brag ...."this shit is even older than label says , this is what 24 old GD tastes like"
@Ctrexman Only the distillery could tell you for sure, but meh - if you think it's magnificent that's all that really matters.
My bottle is 4/4/19 will that be older than 18 or is it in the new run?.....either way its magnificent
@cascode Ah interesting I joked about them drinking before I saw your comment!
@dhsilv2 Ah interesting no I hadn't. Maybe they just drink it :-)
@cascode a recession will only be GOOD for the quality of whisky, sadly that is by no means how I'd like to see whisky quality go up.
@Soba45 Especially with the upcoming economic turmoil. Many promises and best intentions will be revised, and Billy Walker isn't at the helm anymore. @dhsilv2 The odd bottles go to the staff. Fact.
@Soba45 have you noticed iwth single casks that sprinbank OFTEN has out turn like 300 bottles or 120, almost always ending in a 0. It makes me wonder if single casks often have some whisky set aside for other projects. I can't say for sure, but it's more than a few times had me wondering if they short those single casks to both get a presmemium for them but then to finish off some of their other range.
@dhsilv2 Yeah I suppose the pressures of demand outpacing supply and wanting to milk max $$ from their older stock (given how stupidly priced most 25 yr + bottlings are) means they often skate as close to the age statement as possible these days. would be interested to see what Springbanks approach is..
@cascode I mean most whisky historically has been a blend with older whisky being in it from all distilleries from scotch to bourbon. it feels like a rather new thing that many age stated whiskies are the actual age of that statement.
They might well use some older spirit in the next batch of 18 (although probably a much lower proportion than previously) but I’d be very surprised if the practice was maintained after that.
@dhsilv2 I wouldn't be confident in that. In 2019 all places in UK and NZ ran out for a long period of time. Master of Malt for most of the year from Jan 2019 to September 2019 @Discontinued? Hello there, Thank you for your inquiry! Unfortunately none of our suppliers for Glendronach have this product in stock so it doesn't look like it will come back :( Now MoM were wrong about that the restock came back at the end of the year. That almost certainly indicates a switch over point. They may blend but then again they didn't with the 15 and again if they were going to why discontinue for so long?
@Soba45 I'm pretty sure anything 2019 is going to be 24 year old and the distillery has been emphatic that they're going to gradually take this down, they're not going "cold turkey".
@Ctrexman Try and get an older bottling. They switched over last year mid way I think so anything 2018 or earlier is good. They may blend it down or go cold turkey with new batches like they did with the 15. They have the date stamp on the bottle itself
Alright thats it Im getting this......everyone loves this, I love the 15, DH here doesnt toss around 4and a quarter lightly. Im thinking $160 to maybe see god is worth it. I may even take up badminton or flan making after sampling
@dhsilv2 Yeah makes sense. I reckon they will slowly reduce the amount of older stuff over time until it is mostly 18 years old
@Soba45 I"m actuall hearing they are NOT going to just drop back to 18 year or 21 year, unlike the 12 and 15's. They are saying they'll transition their older stuff so that the drop off isn't noticed. We'll see if that really happens. I might buy another bottle...
@dhsilv2 Yup only until the end of this year though after that it'll drop back to 18 year stock given it reopened in 2001. 12 and 15 have already gone that way. As you say 23 year stock right now. Interestingly overseas in the UK they have been out of stock for a number of months now and Master of Malt said they can't get anymore so looks like instead of smooth transition there maybe a cut off for a while like the 15. Makes sense I guess as you but a bottle of 23 yr + stock and next year you grab another actual 18 yr you'd be like WTF!
With time they have gone up, but each year is getting older too.
Good review. One of my favorites which we can still get here for round the $100 usd mark. Only bottle I have two of :-)