GlenDronach 1993 Cask #641 23yrs

53.0% Pedro Ximénez Sherry Butt - Specially bottled for The Whisky World

Another GlenDronach single cask that has been selected by the guys at The Whisky World. This is one of their 1993 and has been drawn from a Pedro Ximénez Sherry Butt.

Appearance: Dark Mahogany. Slow, oily legs creep down the inside of the glass.

Nose: Deep & rich grape juice mingles with old dark PX sherry that’s been sat in the glass for a while. There’s warm milk chocolate, plump raisins, and a bold fruity boozed-spiked sherry trifle. A fabulous nose where you can just hold the glass in your hand and sniff the liquid for ages without needing to take a sip.

Palate: Rich and thick with an oily viscosity. Initial deep sweetness on the tongue turns to dryness on the side and roof of the palate. Held in the mouth for a few moment, a dusty ashen and slight spent matchstick note appear. The swallow confirms this. It isn’t a heavy sulphurous or nasty rubber taste, but more of a drying coating with notes of a freshly struck match with some cigar tobacco. But it’s well behaved and not ruining the show. The sweetness stays and gives up to tinned prunes, caramel, raisins & dried fruit, and some chocolate sauce. The matchstick element does keep bobbing in and out but isn’t overshadowing anything.

Finish: Long, with a sweet ashy-meatiness.

Water adds... More fruit and floral toffee on the nose, nuts on the palate. There’s less of the matchstick now. The finish reveals a wine note with slight sourness.

Conclusion: If you don’t mind a slight matchstick element to your whisky, then you will absolutely love this. For me, if that extra note wasn’t there, this would be an absolute bombshell of a whisky. However, it’s still lovely. And that nose…

Available at thewhiskyworld.com for £249.90 (at the time of writing)