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. Continue reading
Nose: Bright and fruity, almost perfume-y, banana, fermented fruits, esters, Demerara sugar, pineapple and mango, sweet wood spices. After a few minutes it’s turning perfume-y with caramelized pears, peaches and some very ripe apricots. 
Nose: Dried fruit, mostly sweet with a bit sour fruits thrown in, quite fresh and light, bright cherries, strawberry, low-key oak spice after all that time, cinnamon, more sour fruitiness (with tropic bearing), a very pleasant nose. 
Nose: Dirty, gun powder and mild sulphur. Then dried raspberries, strong espresso, fresh sour berries with lingonberries and cranberries, cocoa and sour plums. 
Nose: Clean and richly sweet, green apples and pears, sweet barley, pink grapefruit, melon, pear drops and red apple peels. After a few minutes more tropical fruit and extra grapefruit juice. 
Nose: Weak and thin, showing some youth as well, sweet green grapes, golden apples, oak sweetness, cereals porridge, cream. After a few minutes anise and concentrated oranges juice from can. 
Nose: Toffee and honey, followed by sweet dried fruit and candle wax. Then subtle wood spice and peat smoke drifts in, cake dough, soursweet raspberry jam. After a few minutes more honey, white pepper and delicate greenery with dried peaches and pears. Then it gets herbal honey, cinnamon and ever so gentle waxy texture. 
Nose: At first it’s very wine-y and very Armagnac/Cognac like with the smooth wood spice and grapes. Then sugar, orange and delicate citrus, white pepper and oak spice that lurks in the background. Slowly it’s more rum-y, fermented banana, some light funk and esters, followed by a delicate balance of white flowers and sweet grapes with rum. A very light and restrained rum nose (relatively to other rums tasted lately). 
Nose: Lactic, vanilla and wet cardboard dominate at first. After a few minutes in the glass it relaxed and there’s honey, coconut, grassy side and vanilla perfume, Eventually it even develops a floral edge. 
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