Glendronach 30 Years Old 1992 Cask #7417

A 30 year old Glendronach, a distillery bottling, from 1992, cask 7417, at 54.5%, 633 bottles in all. Glendronach is a rich Highland malt from the Valley of Forgue, near Huntly. It passed to Brown Forman, owner of Jack Daniel's, in 2016 as part of a 285 million pound deal. Its water is the Dronac Burn, which also gave the distillery its name. It was mothballed in 1996 and lay silent until production resumed in 2002. It was bought in 2008 by Billy Walker's BenRiach company, who rebuilt it as a heavily sherried single malt.

The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. Maturation came in an Oloroso sherry puncheon, layered over the full Glendronach make. In its ethereal years the malt turns waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a whisper of sotolon over dark fruit. The full bodied spirit takes active wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At a hearty 54.5% it carries real weight. A deep, dark sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a richly sherried Highland single malt.