GlenDronach Cask Strength: Batch 11 Review

Background

Modern GlenDronach came into existence in the early 00s, reopening in 2002 and acquired by the Chivas Brothers/Pernod Richard in 2005. This early 00s run was spearheaded in large part by Billy Walker, who at this point was essentially sizing up mothballed distilleries and bringing in Chivas to bring them back. First BenRiach, then GlenDronach, and finally Glenglassaugh. At the latter too in particular, he brought a signature and highly sherried style with him.

In 2016, Brown-Forman bought out this trio of distilleries and in the same year Dr. Rachel Barrie was appointed Master Blender, a position she still holds today at all three distilleries. Which brings us to GlenDronach Cask Strength, blended from PX and Oloroso casks selected by Dr. Barrie and released annually. With this year’s batch (12) just hitting the market, I figured it’s time to check in on Batch 11!

GlenDronach Cask Strength: Batch 11 (NAS, 59.8%)

Nose: Orange candies, cranberry Ocean Spray, and a touch of honeycomb. There’s also a bit of anise, hinting at a balanced profile to come.

Palate: That juicy, artificial cranberry from the nose really pops for me on the palate. Dried, cocktail oranges and mulling spices nicely cut the sweetness. It has a solid viscosity as well.

Finish: Toffee, orange, and honestly a bit like a spiced hot toddy in the sense that there’s citrus, spice and a gentle honey note taking the sip home.

Great (7/10)

Overall: Not unsurprisingly, this falls somewhere in the vicinity this falls somewhere in the vicinity of another highly sherried, cask strength line - two Aberlour A'bunadh batches I reviewed fairly recently. It’s a rich sip with an excellent balance of spices that counterbalance the sweetness from the sherry. At ~$100 a bottle, I don’t mind the price point for an annual, cask strength release at all either.