Glendronach 22 Years Old 1995 Cask #4038

Glendronach from the distillery, a 22 year old, from 1995, cask 4038, at 55.1%, 681 bottles in all. Glendronach is a Highland single malt whose founder was an early champion of sherry cask maturation. It was mothballed in 1996 and lay silent until production resumed in 2002. 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 was run slowly off the spirit still, 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 the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Highland body. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At its natural 55.1% it is rich and chewy. A rich, sherried sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a dark, fruity Highland single malt.