Glendronach 19 Years Old 1995 Cask #1563 (LMDW)

La Maison du Whisky bottled this Glendronach, a 19 year old, distilled in 1995, from cask 1563, at 54.2%, one of 640 bottles. Glendronach is a Highland single malt, revived from 2008 by Billy Walker's BenRiach company. It was founded in 1826 by James Allardice, said to be the second man in Scotland to take a licence after the Excise Act of 1823. It joined William Teacher and Sons in 1960 and became a core malt of the Teacher's blend.

Worked unhurried through the stillhouse, giving a deep, full bodied Highland spirit. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry butt, the wood working deep into the malt. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Highland body. 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 a natural 54.2% it is full and rich. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a deep, sherried Highland single malt.