Glendronach 11 Years Old 2008 (Vintage Bottling)

An 11 year old Glendronach, a distillery bottling, from 2008, at 46%, 3500 bottles in all. Glendronach is a Highland single malt, founded in 1826 near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. It was bought in 2008 by Billy Walker's BenRiach company, who rebuilt it as a heavily sherried single malt.

It was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, shaping a rich Highland body with real weight. It was matured in a Pedro Ximenez cask, the wood working deep into the malt. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Active first fill sherry wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At an approachable 46% it is soft and fruity. A rich, sherried sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a dark, fruity Highland single malt.