Glendronach Ode to the Embers

Glendronach from the distillery, at 48.4%. Glendronach is a Highland single malt whose founder was an early champion of sherry cask maturation. By 1862 it had grown into the largest duty paying distillery in the Highlands. Its water is the Dronac Burn, which also gave the distillery its name. It passed to Brown Forman, owner of Jack Daniel's, in 2016 as part of a 285 million pound deal. It was the last distillery in Scotland to fire its stills with coal, converting to steam only in 2005.

Distilled to a rich, generous cut, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was matured in an Oloroso cask, the wood working deep into the malt. Without an age statement, a dark sugar and dried fruit point to good years in cask. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register.

At its natural 48.4% it is rich and chewy. Orange, raisin and a treacle edge, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. Dried fruit, spice and a soft oak see it out. This is a Highland single malt of real standing.