The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch #11 /59,8%/ – The initial bottling of GlenDronach Cask Strength was launched in December 2012 and scored outstanding reviews. It was a vatting of ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks bottled without age statement. In 2016 the distillery was sold to Brown-Forman Corporation, owners of Jack Daniel’s, and in March the following year Rachel Barrie (of Bowmore and Glenmorangie fame) was appointed to the master blender post. She has been responsible for cask selection for GlenDronach Cask Strength, including the one presented here Batch # 11, which hit the shelves in early fall 2022. The whisky comes from Spanish oak Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks and was bottled at natural color and without chill filtration.
Nose: cranberry relish, blackberries, orange peel, honey, toffee, dark chocolate, gingerbread, cinnamon, clove, roasted almonds and nuts, and sherried oak.
Palate: chocolate-coated raisins, blackberry preserve, blood oranges, toffee, maple syrup, honey-roasted nuts, dash of cinnamon and oak.
Finish: fairly long, with notes of sherry, dark chocolate, oranges, cherries, caramel, nutmeg, mixed nuts and oak.
