Glendronach 28 Years Old 1994 Cask #475

Glendronach from the distillery, a 28 year old, from 1994, cask 475, at 51.5%, 682 bottles in all. Glendronach is a Highland single malt, long a blending malt and now a sherry led name in its own right. It was bought in 2008 by Billy Walker's BenRiach company, who rebuilt it as a heavily sherried single malt. By 1862 it had grown into the largest duty paying distillery in the Highlands. It was bought in 1920 by Charles Grant, a son of the founder of Glenfiddich.

It was distilled in copper pot stills, shaping a rich Highland body with real weight. Maturation came in a Pedro Ximenez sherry puncheon, layered over the full Glendronach make. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. Active first fill sherry wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At its natural 51.5% it is rich and chewy. A deep, dark sweetness, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. The body is full and rich, the fruit deep and dark. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a Highland single malt of real standing.