Glendronach 25 Years Old 1993 Cask #659

A distillery release of Glendronach, a 25 year old, from 1993, cask 659, at 59.1%, a festival bottling. Glendronach is a Highland single malt whose founder was an early champion of sherry cask maturation. It joined William Teacher and Sons in 1960 and became a core malt of the Teacher's blend.

The spirit was taken gently through wash and spirit stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry butt, layered over the full Glendronach make. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. 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. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At a natural 59.1% it is full and rich. Raisin, chocolate and a warm spice, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a Highland single malt of real standing.