The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10 58.6% 700ml

This limited-edition release of Highland Single MaltScotch Whiskywas matured in the finest Pedro Ximnez and Oloroso Sherry casks, direct from Andaluca in Spain. The casks were individually selected by Dr. Rachel Barrie, the first female Master Blender in Scotlands history, then combined to create the perfect marriage of casks at 58.6% ABV natural cask strength, non-chill filtered and natural in colour.

This unadulterated cask strength bottling brings out the full character and depth of GlenDronachs complex, full-bodied spirit, along with the rich, deep concentration of flavour and natural colour from those Spanish oak Sherry casks: the Pedro Ximnez casks bring rich, fruit flavours, whilst the dry and nutty notes come from the Oloroso casks.

Pour yourself a glass and be rewarded with wave upon glorious wave of chocolate orange cake, ripe dark cherries, nuts, and honeyed sultanas, and that classic long, lingering, viscous finish.

The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10 is a massive Sherry Bomb thatll leave your palate in awe of its rich, delicious complexity.

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.