It's great how oily the whisky is in the glass and there are long streaks on the glass wall.

In the nose, initially more reserved than expected. Not that violent sherry fist from the overloaded sherry bombs that have been so popular lately. It is much more elegant with lots of dark fruits, boiled with figs, raisins, cherries, blackberries ... and a little apple sprinkled with cinnamon. Now comes the chocolate ... associations of chocolate with nuts. Not really dark chocolate, just a little bittersweet. A really pleasant, slightly sour note is added, which I love for whisky matured in sherry casks. I thought that was so delicious with The Maltman Secret Speyside 16y. And in the end, the wood comes with fresher wood from a carpentry and older wood from old furniture. Everything is wonderfully interwoven ... just great as soon as you let it stand longer and have the first sip approved. Then the aroma becomes even stronger.

In the mouth incredibly creamy and oily, it pushes vigorously with its 51.7% and dark sweet fruits flood the mouth ... wow! Spices follow with pepper, cinnamon and a pleasant woodiness with hints of leather, the chocolate is now darker and lines the mouth. Complex, sweet, fruity, dry, spicy ... somehow everything together but everything harmonizes wonderfully. The 51.7% alcohol is perfectly integrated and ensures the optimal level of strength.

The aromas stay in the mouth for a long time. Wonderful. Dark chocolate with a fruit filling with dark fruits and garnished with a little pepper ... this is how you can perhaps describe it.

Overall, I have to say that this is a really good whisky. The nose is not as strong as hoped at the beginning, but you should leave the whisky for 30 minutes with a lid on the glass. It opens up more and more and the boiled fruits become more and more present. Similar to the Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried, where the nose is initially weaker than expected ... but gradually it gets really awesome. The Glendronach is not an "in the face" whisky, but a gentle and elegant gentleman with an abundance of flavors. Anyone who gets involved will be rewarded with a complex and wonderfully complex whisky.

We do not need to discuss the price. The whisky is really expensive! And it is not € 350 more delicious than an Allardice or Parliament. But he plays in a higher league, I have to make that clear.

My rating: fabulous 93/100 points

The oldest single cask (or cask bottling, as Glendronach has recently called it) from Batch17 is convincing across the board. An elegant, dark, fruity sherry line slowly combines with a finely woven spice that remains on the palate for several minutes. Fantastic! No one-dimensional sherry bomb of modern character from wet barrels, but a finely matured noble, old glendron after which you can taste the long years in the PX barrel. My favorite from batch 17 in front of casks 221, 847 and the port pipe.

This is one of ‘those’ Glendronachs. Incredible stuff! Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. This is something you will brag about with your grandchildren later in your life. So incredibly complex and multilayered. Out of this world!

Blind Tasting: July 2021

Adequately complex, but with minor disruptive elements. The oak has made a solid contribution, only in the aftertaste distillate and wood do not get along so well. For the full review, go here: https://halbendrinks.de/2022/01/30/gdpx/

What a stunner! I’ve enjoyed some great GlenDronach Single Cask releases so far, but this GlenDronach 1990 Single Cask Bottling, aged for 28 Years in a Pedro Ximenez Puncheon (#7905) is a standout even amongst the other single casks.

It starts with that inviting, balanced nose. The taste is even better, where it delivers not only the expected Pedro Ximenez cask influences like stewed figs, plums and raisins (and does it very well), but it evokes things like Tarte Bourdaloue (French Pear Tart), a very well integrated ABV (51.7%) that never burns and is barely noticeable. A wonderful mouthfeel, some dark chocolate and ancient library notes, and a long, smooth, even finish.