Glendronach
Founded in 1826 by a consortium including James Allardice in Forgue, Aberdeenshire and was only the second distillery to apply for a license to legally produce alcohol under the 1823 Excise Act..
Part of the distillery was destroyed by fire in 1837 and in 1852 Walter Scott takes control of the distillery but dies in 1887 when another consortium from Leith takes control.
Charles Grant then buys the distillery In 1920 for the sum of £9000 before selling it on in 1960 to William Teacher and sons.
The distillery is unfortunately mothballed in 1996 and stays silent until the 14th of May when owners Allied Distillers start production once again.
Closed for re furnishing ( changes from coal to steam heating ) in 2005 when Chivas Brothers take over but is soon sold again in 2008 when The Benriach Distillery Company Ltd takes control.
Brown Forman takes control in 2016 and soon brings in Rachel Barrie as Master blender for Glendronach, Benriach and Glenglassaugh.
Ranty Part
Known best for the heavily sherried releases, Glendronach has over several years released a series of single casks. These highly anticipated bottles don’t hang around very long and so when a package comes through the door containing a glimpse into what we can expect then the fever levels just rise a little..
Its often a question i hear posed as to just how productive samples sent to bloggers can be, my simple answer is this. I am often asked if i know when certain releases are due out, when will Blah Blah Blah be available and how much ? Was bottle x any good, is it any good.. Then the question comes from those wondering what the companies get from said involvement with bloggers, well my take is this, firstly if i can give someone my thoughts on an upcoming release and this then excites them to the point of deciding to buy said release then my job is done, it also means i have an insight into buying the bottle myself, a kind of heads up if you like.. So yes i have received a couple of samples ( shock and horror ) and yes this review is off the back of these samples, so are the bottles on pre order !!
There then becomes the ethical aspect, is my opinion being bought ? I say not, but then i would say that wouldn’t I ! Of course, then the sample sent as payment then resides in me spending a few hours of my time reviewing, researching and then writing about it, then on a majority of the times it results in a purchase, now explain to me where i am being bought ?????
I do understand the belief though that samples sent are the devils offerings and with that so many unscrupulous people decide to become bloggers just for the thousands of free samples sent to them ( obviously im doing it wrong) but understand this, there are so many honest bloggers out there who just want to offer you, the reader a honest opinion… Opinion.. Just remember that word for a second as that is all we ever try to do, give you our opinion.
We don’t always get it right for all our readers but that’s what makes whisky such a great conversation piece, it is so opinionated, its diverse and its so bloody simple, its a simple drink made for the people by the people, then we as humans decided we wanted more, we wanted to scrutinise this simple drink, we decided it must have flaws, it must be either good, great, average or simply shit.. It couldn’t possibly be that our own insecurities or failings could be at fault.
Consider this, next time you read someones opinion on a whisky or even this review and you don’t agree with it, or even if I as a blogger tell you the whisky might be poor then ask a few simple questions.
Firstly, who the hell am I ?
what do i know about whisky ?
Do i even like it ( Hopefully since i am drinking it and telling you my opinion i do)
Again let me highlight this and every other review i do is my opinion, its a thought process that i have, it is an in the moment piece, its my feelings at that point in time and understandably this can change with moods, outside influences like time of year, temperatures and so on.
You on the other hand might just have a very different lifestyle, mood and palate, hence a difference of opinion..
Now, what does the company get from me ranting on about their whisky, so kindly sent to me for me to form my opinion.. The obvious answer is some advertising, word of mouth and again a heads up to those searching for some info before parting with their hard earned cash, do they really benefit from us bloggers waxing lyrical about the product ? From my experience and discussions there is definitely a small benefit from this, it will have a helpful push for certain releases, it is after all a part of the marketing department, so if it didn’t help then i am damn sure it would soon be stopped !!
Glendronach 2009 Cask #2091 10 Year Old Pedro Ximinez Puncheon
Distillery.. Glendronach
Region.. Highlands
Age.. 10 years
Vintage.. 2009
Distilled.. 14th December 2009
Bottled.. 2020
Abv.. 61.9%
Cask.. Pedro Ximinez Puncheon #2091
Outturn.. 692 bottles
Nose.. Dates merge into figs, which merge into candied orange before dark chocolate brings in some balance. Coffee notes, candied orange, glace cherries, black forest gateau, sticky toffee pudding and tobacco leaf gives this a lovely rounded nose..
Palate.. Warming spices lead into a dark chocolate bitterness, orange peels, ginger nut biscuits, tobacco, cherry pie and of course all those dried fruits and aniseed torpedo sweets.. Add a little attitude from the alcohol kick and this goes down rather nicely, thank you very much..
Finish.. Earthy and spicy with a delicious kick..
Thoughts.. You all know i like my sherried drams and Glendronach, so it will be no surprise when i tell you i like this, i like it a lot.. Yes i like it enough to have ordered it..
This is the younger version in this release and offers all those big dark flavours and aromas and demands you ask the question, why am i not enough ? And by that i simply mean, a lot of you will clamber over each other for those older expressions and then look at this one for its price tag, DON’T, this is quite simply delicious, add a little water to tame it down just a little and you have yourself a bloody good single cask offering..
With Thanks to Glendronach for this Sample..
ocdwhisky.com 