Glendronach The Parisian Room

A Glendronach, a distillery bottling, at 49%. Glendronach is a deep, dark Highland malt of dried fruit, chocolate and spice. 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.

Distilled to a rich, generous cut, building a deep malt of dried fruit and dark sugar. It was matured in Pedro Ximenez, Oloroso and Cognac casks, each wood adding to the dark, dried fruit. Carrying no age, soft vanillin and dried fruit suggest a fair spell in active oak. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Maturation runs slow and even in the traditional dunnage warehouses on the Forgue site.

Bottled at a cask strength 49%, it is deep and concentrated. Fig, walnut and a bittersweet chocolate, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. Dried fruit and a treacle sit behind the spice. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a richly sherried Highland single malt.