Glendronach 19 Years Old 1995 Cask #76

Glendronach from the distillery, a 19 year old, from 1995, cask 76, at 54.1%, 629 bottles in all. Glendronach is a Highland single malt, founded in 1826 near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. It was bought in 1920 by Charles Grant, a son of the founder of Glenfiddich. It was the last distillery in Scotland to fire its stills with coal, converting to steam only in 2005. It passed to Brown Forman, owner of Jack Daniel's, in 2016 as part of a 285 million pound deal.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, for a weighty, full spirit the sherry casks then deepen. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry puncheon, layered over the full Glendronach make. Into oxidative maturity, slow air builds ripe esters and a darker chocolate, fig and date depth. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Active first fill sherry wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt.

At 54.1%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Fig, honey and a dark chocolate fill the middle. It finishes long, full and fruity. This is a deep, sherried Highland single malt.