Glendronach 23 Years Old 1992

A 23 year old Glendronach, a distillery bottling, from 1992, cask 76, at 52%, 683 bottles in all. Glendronach is a Highland single malt, founded in 1826 near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. It passed to Brown Forman, owner of Jack Daniel's, in 2016 as part of a 285 million pound deal. It joined William Teacher and Sons in 1960 and became a core malt of the Teacher's blend. Its water is the Dronac Burn, which also gave the distillery its name.

Distilled in copper pot stills, for a weighty make built to take active Spanish oak. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry butt, the wood working deep into the malt. In the oxidative, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to dried fruit, dark chocolate and a waxy, resinous depth. Maturation runs slow and even in the traditional dunnage warehouses on the Forgue site. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At its natural 52% it is rich and chewy. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A dark chocolate and a soft oak give it weight. The close is rich and dark, fruit over a warm spice. This is a full bodied Highland single malt of real richness.