GlenDronach 40 years 1971 - 2011 Single Cask #1436

The founding of The GlenDronach distillery took place in 1826 in the town of Forgue near Huntly in the Highlands, Scotland. With almost 200 years of experience, The GlenDronach distillery is one of the oldest in the Highlands and a truly traditional distillery that still mainly uses maturation in sherry casks.

Since 2007, The GlenDronach has presented a series under the name: Single Cask whiskies. Batch 4 was launched in July 2011 and this 40-year-old Single Cask Whisky was the oldest release from this batch. True to their tradition, The GlenDronach primarily uses carefully selected sherry casks hand-crafted at renowned sherry bodegas from southern Spain (Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlúcar de Barrameda) 

Origin and bottling

Distilled on 25 February of the year 1971 and finally bottled in July 2011 after a maturation of over 40 years. This Single Cask Whisky is the perfect example of craftsmanship from this renowned Highlands distillery. After very careful selection, cask 1436 was selected and finally bottled at cask strength without colouring and filtering. This has resulted in 583 bottles of liquid gold.

Cask type

This single cask whisky has spent over four decades on a Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon. This cask has allowed this GlenDronach to gain unparalleled depth and enormous complexity.

Tasting notes

Colour

The reddish brown of autumn leaves is the best name for the colour we see in the glass. Like walking through a forest with the sun sparkling through the leaves.

Nose

When we bring the glass to the nose, we are greeted by a lively mildly spicy scent. Very delicately complemented by notes of forest fruit and mocha/coffee notes. Let's also mention the nutty aromas of toasted walnuts and roasted chestnuts. All the senses are stimulated and it is a feast for the nose.

Taste

The first touch on the tongue is powerful, it is instantly awake and ready to take on the adventure. The flavour is great, think nuts, dark chocolate and a whole assortment of dried Mediterranean fruits; figs, dates and sweet sultanas. All perfectly balanced and, for many aficionados, among the absolute best when it comes to sherry cask aged Highland Single Malt Whisky.

Overall impression

The aroma and flavour are fine representatives of this 40-year-old Single Cask GlenDronach. Whisky doesn't get much nicer than this. The alcohol content of 48.5% gives this whisky body and character and this is a fantastic signpost for the GlenDronach distillery. A real treat for the true connoisseur.

The GlenDronach 40 years 1971 - 2011 Single Cask #1436 has an average score of 93.73/100 points on WhiskyBase 

Tasting Notes according to GlenDronach

Appearance

Crimson 'King Maple Leaves' on an Autumn woodland floor.

Nose

Spicy and full of life. A basket of freshly picked brambles and raspberries. Huge coffee and roasted walnut structure.

Palate

Powerful and full flavoured. Nuts, chocolate and dried Mediterranean fruits including figs, dates and sweet raisins.