GlenDronach 1993 Cask #653 24yrs

Sherry Butt 60.4% - Specially bottled for Green Welly Stop

Another anticipated dark destroyer of a sherrybomb coming out of 1993, this 10th Anniversary celebration of Green Welly Stops online store packs a punch Anthony Joshua would be proud of. And when it appeared online, it was gone in a matter of minutes. They’ve moved away from young single casks that have been exclusively bottled for them in the past, and taken on a proper vintage from an infamous year.

Appearance: Red Mahogany. Long, thick and slow oily legs.

Nose: Huge amounts of thick and rich sherry. Again, it’s like a concentration of a whole bottle that’s been distilled into a single whiff. After the sweet-hit on the nose, there comes a vegetal element with a slight damp dustiness. More sweet aromas in the form of prunes, dark fruit compote, molasses, dried & soured cherries, candied peel, fruitcake spice, and beeswax furniture polish. Now a new element lurking in the background like bbq’d meat appears. Then caramel, and finally an unexpected but not unpleasant whiff of cowshed. That must be linked to the damp dusty and vegetal notes.

Palate: Extremely rich, thick & heavy sherry – which if that wasn’t the case judging by the colour, I’d give up and turn to drinking cocoa. Talking of which, there is a cocoa-chocolatey quality, supported by heavily roasted coffee beans. The sweetness then moves over and allows quite a powerful dryness and natural liquorice stick woody bitterness to appear that dries the mouth. The final sensation in the mouth is a layer oily treacle with a peppery bite and a hint of vanilla.

Finish: Ludicrously long with heaps of black treacle mixed with a little cigar ash. The bitter-sweetness stays on the tongue for an age, whilst the chilli-crackle fades away. The cigar ash linger then morphs into a light and faint extinguished match head (a little sulphurous but very, very faint)

Water adds..

More vegetal notes and Play-Doh on the nose, drier sweetness & oaky woodiness on the palate. And the finish also has an increased level of bitter dryness.

Conclusion: Yet again, this is a huge and massive sherried whisky with every trademark of a GlenDronach, but on steroids. There’s no need to try and say much more really, as I think you probably get the gist of it.