Glendronach 10 Years Old 2009

A 10 year old Glendronach, a distillery bottling, from 2009, cask 2091, at 61.9%, 692 bottles in all. Glendronach is a deep, dark Highland malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. Its water is the Dronac Burn, which also gave the distillery its name.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was matured in a Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheon, the wood working deep into the malt. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend riper orchard fruit and a chocolate depth. Maturation runs slow and even in the traditional dunnage warehouses on the Forgue site. Active first fill sherry wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The casks are picked closely, the wood matched to the rich Glendronach make. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At a hearty 61.9% it carries real weight. Fig, walnut and a bittersweet chocolate, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a full bodied Highland single malt of real richness.