I love it when two of my favourite things come together: Glendronach and independent bottler Malts of Scotland. Both almost never let me down, so I was incredibly excited when I received this birthday present from Dion.
I you don’t tried MoS yet and it’s available in your country: check them out. Especially their sherry and wine matured/finished whisky’s are excellent most of the time. We often buy a couple of samples to try out new released and we always end up with a huge wish list.
This Glendronach has matured on a sherry hogshead (#18011) for 23 years. Distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2018 at 50.2%, this ought to be a killer, right?
Mature wood, infused with sherry goodness, plums, raisins, cedar, leather and a subtle spiciness.
At first it’s rather timid and dry, with sweet hints of mature spicy wood. Some nice dark sherry tones join the party, but it stays beautifully fresh for such an old whisky. Leather, yellow plums and raisins introduce you to the finish.
The finish is that of a typical Glendronach. Waves of grapes and yellow raisins, tobacco, dark wood, chocolate and a mouth coating sweetness.
A wonderful dram, which invites you to take another dram. But how does it compare to another favourite of ours: the 21yo Parliament?
Here are some extra notes after a dram of the 21yo:
More tobacco and raisins
Dryer, more wood, spices and raisins
Nuts, tobacco, raisins are more prominent now
The Parliament (bottled at 48%) is juicier, smoother, fruiter, but also more timid han this 23yo indie bottling. But for a dram that’s double the price, we’re not surprised that the MoS offers a lot more depth.
What would you prefer?