Take a whisky from a classic vintage year from a well-known distillery, one that was matured in sherry casks they are famous for using them and you’d expect a fantastic whisky.

This is what we had in mind when I selected this whisky for a blind tasting events earlier this year – A Glendronach from 1993 (A Master Vintage!) matured in Oloroso and PX casks so it must be a winner.

Let’s see what I thought of it:

Glendronach Master Vintage 1993 25 Year Old (48.2%, £250/€218.90)

Photo credit: whiskybase.com

Nose: Sour dried berries, a lot of cinnamon of all kinds – fresh, boiled and cooked, gentle oak spices and white pepper, sour fresh cherries and gooseberry and after a few minutes some raspberries as well coupled with milk chocolate. Very mellow and gentle nose.

Palate: Silky and mellow, cinnamon galore, dried bright coloured berries fruitiness (mainly gooseberries and cranberries) , subtle white pepper heat, oak spice and milk chocolate.

Finish: Medium length, sour-sweet dried berries, figs, cinnamon , subtle oak spice and white pepper.

Thoughts: Meh, I had such high expectations from this whisky. It’s named Master Vintage after all but it left me disappointed and confused. Maybe it’s just me that I was expecting far more classic Glendronach sherried whisky profile with stronger dried fruits and dark chocolate notes here or the lack of depth and flatness (or just not complex enough) for a 25 year old release. But it performed poorly at the blind tasting event where this bottle was brought to – to the point it was ranked last in its preliminary heat, so it’s probably not me but the whisky (or this specific bottle).