The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 11 59.8% 700ml

Bottled at a full-bodied cask strength of 59.8% and fully matured in first-fill Pedro Ximnez & Oloroso Sherry casks, this is a Sherry Bomb of resounding depths. Batch 11 is the last instalment of this Club-favourite series to make it as Whisky of the Month.

COLOUR:Deep bronze

NOSE:Mulled cranberry, orange and clove liqueur meld with dark honeyed treacle on a base of nutty oak.

PALATE:Richly spiced brambleberry wine and treacle toffee interweave with chocolate-coated raisins, cinnamon, and lashings of maple syrup.

FINISH:Lingering orange peel and nutmeg, layered with cloying caramel and maraschino cherry.

FOOD MATCH:Apple cranberry pork chops with roasted baby carrots, followed by blackberry and raspberry crumble.

This eleventh batch of The GlenDronach Cask Strength embodies The GlenDronachs celebrated style of Spanish Oak maturation in fine Pedro Ximnez and Oloroso Sherry casks from Andaluca, says Dr Rachel Barrie, Master Blender of The GlenDronach, Benriach and Glenglassaugh distilleries since 2016. And shes bringing this to the table at a whopping 59.8% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural in colour.

Unravel this iconic release from one of Scotlands oldest distilleries, discovering a decadent and viscous array ofdark honeyed treacle,chocolate-coated raisins, topped withlashings of maple syrup. And thats not even the finish. Withorange and clove liqueurandmaraschino cherries, this full-bodied dram will be best enjoyed under a clear night sky in front of a campfire. Maybe even with a plate of lightly spiced Spanish doughnuts in hand.

GlenDronach’s History

Known as the sleeping giant, GlenDronach is one of Scotlands oldest distilleries and only the second to be granted a license to produce whisky after the Excise Act of 1823. James Allardice, a remarkable and extroverted man who loved a drink and a good time, founded the distillery on the Boynsmill Estate in 1826. Its believed that illicit distillation had actually been taking place at the estate for years before the excise act was passed, but this was undetected thanks to an ingenious alarm system in the form of a colony of rooks nesting in the trees, which would create a hell of a commotion when disturbed an excellent warning system for the approach of Customs & Excise agents.

Allardices initial sales trip to Edinburgh is reported to have descended into whisky fuelled debauchery involving several ladies of the night, with him scoring in more ways than one because he sold all of his stock on that trip, and not long after bottles of Guid GlenDronach could be found in every pub along the Royal Mile. Word soon spread about GlenDronachs richly Sherried malts and the distillery landed an early contract for its malt whisky to be used as a key blending ingredient in Teachers Royal Highland Cream Scotch Whisky, a deal that lasted more than a century with Teachers eventually buying the distillery in 1960.

Things were going very well, but two key events over the next few years saw ownership of the distillery change hands and Allardice eventually losing his share in GlenDronach. The first was a fire in February 1837 that practically burned the distillery to the ground. Business suffered after the fire and some of the original partners retired, thereby opening the door for Walter Scott, former clerk and then distillery manager at Teaninich to become a new and equal partner of Allardice. The distillery was repaired, and business continued to flourish until the financial crisis of 1842 left Allardice bankrupt. The remaining partners bought his share and Walter Scott took the reins. The distillery flourished under his stewardship, expanding significantly between 1860 1880 and selling more whisky than any other distillery in Scotland during that time.

Walter Scott died in May 1886 and over the next seventy-five years the distillery was owned first by a consortium known as The GlenDronach Distillery Company and then by William Grants son Charles before Teachers eventually bought the distillery in 1960, a sensible move given GlenDronach had been supplying malt whisky for Teachers blends for the past 130 years! Keen to capitalise on the Scotch boom at the time, Teachers expanded the distillery in 1967 with the new concrete block still-house and doubled the number of stills from two to four.

A significant event occurred in 1968 with the release of GlenDronach 8YO, the first time that the distillery was promoted as a stand-alone single malt brand and the distillerys core range of 12, 15 and 18 year old heavily Sherried single malts soon reached iconic status. In the meantime, ownership changes were taking place in the background that would ultimately place the continuity of GlenDronach at risk. Allied Brewers, who would go on to become Allied Domecq, acquired Teachers in 1976 and in 1996 GlenDronach was mothballed and its floor maltings decommissioned.