Glendronach 13 Years Old 2003 Cask #2356

A 13 year old Glendronach, a distillery bottling, from 2003, cask 2356, at 55.2%, 702 bottles in all. Glendronach is a Highland single malt, long a blending malt and now a sherry led name in its own right. The distillery was an early champion of sherry cask maturation, its malt charming Edinburgh society from the start.

Run slowly off the spirit still, for a weighty make built to take active Spanish oak. It was matured in a Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheon, 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. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years. Maturation runs slow and even in the traditional dunnage warehouses on the Forgue site.

At a hearty 55.2% it carries real weight. A rich, sherried sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is a rich Highland malt of dried fruit and chocolate.