🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Very dark, deep, yet smooth and balanced sherry. Wood, blackberries, blueberries, caramel, figs, dates, olives, liquorice. Dark earth, moist, rich. Humus, vegetable mousse, crushed berries, slightly candied apricots and quinces, orange peel. We are in the clearing of a very dense forest, after a shower, at the beginning of autumn. On the palate, fresh leather, washed down with water, fluorinated iodine, spices, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, coriander. Strawberries, very low acid. Very long, powerful finish, raisins, pomegranate, goji seeds, charcoal, heather. It's really excellent, almost magical. The complexity of the product pushes to extremes of new flavours. The red fruits become exotic, the wood takes on a whole new dimension. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-glendronach-1992-cask-bottling.html

The nose is top class.

Updated, as it's still my favourite of all the Glendronach single casks.

This dram showcases the quintessantial rich, sweet and dark Glendronach nose. An instant hit! The palate was more difficult for me. When I first opened this bottle, the alcohol was too present and somehow didn't feel well integrated even after 26 years of maturation. However, the stuff got better and better the longer the bottle was opened. A great example of bottle oxidation getting rid of sharp edges. The score of 89 for the palate reflects an average of 87 after opening the bottle (slight dissapoinment) to a very high 91 for the tail drams. The finish is unequivocally classy.

Blind Tasting: February 2022

Dark raisins and currants, treacle, is this really an Oloroso? More nuts, walnuts pop to mind. Dutch ‘ontbijtkoek’. Does hit the nostrils and tastebuds significantly due to the high abv, so adding a good splash of water. Chocolate vanilla fudge, macchiato. The alcohol stays quite present that’s unfortunate. Another splash. Hm, that’s just a fraction better. Dark cocoa and more coffee, caramel syrup. A Glendronach that requires some work and patience. But overall it stayed to alcoholic for my taste, I’ve had better Glendronach’s.

Great color, nice, pleasant sherry scent, alcohol perfectly integrated, vanilla, no off-notes. Taste: Sherry, sweetness (perfectly integrated and not too much like some PX Casks), maybe just a touch of cardboard in the background, harmonious and pleasant, mouth-coating, intense, long finish in small "waves", not overwhelmed in any way, raisins, very subtle pleasant oak, no smoke. Overall a fantastic bottling and one of the best whiskys I have ever drunk. Compared to the #7411, which is also quite good, clearly better. Note: I like the whisky best at around 46- 48% diluted.

Blind tasting

This is yet another outstanding Single Cask Bottling from GlenDronach. This 1992 GlenDronach Cask #847 has a fantastic nose (I liked it slightly more than Cask #660!). On the palate, it’s a wonderful dram on its own, different from the standard bottling GlenDronach 18 and 21 Year, but this one is closer in familiarity compared to Cask #5897 (Port Pipe) and Cask #660. This bottle is a bit more hot than #660 and 5897 on the finish, but still an outstanding dram to enjoy by yourself or with family and friends. It doesn’t reach the heights of the legendary Cask #660, but I’m happy to be enjoying this bottle as well. Excellent.

A small sample (2cl) leaves me perplexed and amazed. How can an old Oloroso Sherry Single Cask with this ABV be so round, set and at the same time strong and aromatic at the same time. Isn't it a perfect, settled, harmonious 30 to 40 year old blended malt from a famous Speysider, which nevertheless knocks you over with its cask strength at first glance? No! An old, perfect cask that perfectly combines dark dried fruit, old oak, old sherry and bittersweet fruit sweetness! A roller coaster ride for the senses with an old sherry profile, which will probably soon be a thing of the past as time goes on. Here you get a wide range of aromas and in terms of key data I think everything that (non-smoky) whisky has to offer. Unfortunately, this has its (for me exaggerated) price. But if you get something like that at all in the future, then very soon it will probably be in four figures. So I have no regrets owning another large bottle of this! If it wasn't just a small sample for the first impression, this dram might have the potential to get an extra 1-2 points. To be honest, I don't really know what else needs to be improved here. It was a unique experience and an honor to be able to taste this old Glendronach. After another tasting of my remaining 3cl of the 5cl sample on January 20th, 2022, the whisky received a grade more. He had previously received a total of 93 points (93, 94, 93) from me. The oxygen intensified the aromas in smell and taste mentioned by tommy12 and me, but had a very slightly negative effect on the finish.

Super Whisky! Nose: Zeste of orange, raisin Palate: roasted almond, honey, sweet and soft