GlenDronach 20 Years Old 1993 Single Cask 33 (59.1%, Abbey Whisky, Oloroso Sherry Butt, 592 bottles, 2013)

• Category: Highland single malt scotch whisky
• Origin: GlenDronach Distillery
• Bottling: Benriach Distillery Company, for Abbey Whisky
• ABV: 49.2%
• Cost: £89.95

What They say:

We’ve always enjoyed a single cask GlenDronach, so when the opportunity arose to bottle our very own, we jumped at the chance.

Distilled in 1993, this outstanding dram has been bottled exclusively for abbeywhisky.com. The whisky has taken on a beautiful, dark crimson colour thanks to its 20 year slumber  in an oloroso sherry butt, single cask #33 to be precise. Full bodied, wonderful flavours, the perfect winter warmer… At 59.1% vol it packs quite a punch!!

592 bottles @ 59.1% ABV, distilled 1993, bottled 2013 [20 Years Old]

GlenDronach Cask #33 Tasting Notes

The nose is luscious, lovely stewed prunes and sweet plum syrup hold fantastic depths of gentle clove, cinnamon and rich orange marmalade. The palate, a full-bodied traditional sherried character that gives tremendous waves of sun dried raisins, dates and spiced plums. Richly roasted coffee beans with touches of almond and walnut add a depth and complexity to the long, robust finish.  The perfect winter warmer…

What I say:

Presented as the mystery dram to end the Abbey Whisky Twitter Tasting event, this one was sampled blind while we tried to guess what it was!

Colour:

Blood red

Nose:

On the nose Bloody Mary!, I can’t shake tomato and tabasco, definitely savoury with a little sweet, so sweet I thought something smells like bourbon…

Taste:

Palate, fruity warm, raisins, syrupy, spicy … madeira cask?

Finish:

Long sweet and fruity definitely elements of sherry cask though very very little rubber/sulphur influence – a little water was needed to even expose this minimal amount

Would I buy it:

Did I guess what it was? My guess was Speyside, Possibly Aberlour? Sherried , 18 or 21YO ??? The answer was Speyside, GlenDronach, Sherried and 20 Years Old – so not a million miles away [actually only 28.6 miles away according to Google Maps!]with my guess though I did travel the whisky multiverse of possibilities before arriving not too far from the correct destination. This is an absolute stunner of a sherry bomb, but this time perfectly executed where perhaps the Ben Nevis 16 Years Old in the Rare Casks series showed a little immaturity and inbalance.

Score 90/100

GlenDronach 1993 Single Cask #33 is exclusively available from Abbey Whisky