GlenDronach Single Cask 2002 (Toronto Whisky Society Review Set #1)

As part of the Toronto Whisky Society, we had a small getogether and drank our fucking faces off.

Like gentlemen and ladies and all that shit, you know? All hosted by one of our members, /u/devoz and his amazing wife.

Each of us brought a bottle to drink. And that was too many. So I understand if you take my reviews with a grain of salt. Or two.

We started, as we all should start, with a questionable whisky of lower proof and reviews that were… iffy.

Thanks to /u/distillasian for bringing GlenDronach Single Cask 2002.

GlenDronach recently, as in the last 20 years, was mothballed. For about 6 years. Then they came back. So this malt is post-mothball whisky, and some of the first I’ve ever had.

To add to that, they used their old coal fired stills for about 3 years after reopening in 2002, and then going to internal steam heating. So this is some of the few whiskies that was made with coal fired stills in this century.

The other big thing about this is they used to use peat and coal to dry barley prior to being mothballed. This means anything before the mothballing was peated at 14ppm.

Given all of that, I’m quite excited to have reviewed this one. Pretty cool. Let’s see how it tastes, shall we.

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Highland

Cask No: 1598

Bottel No: 519/671

Date Distilled: 26/06/2002

Date Bottled: 08/2012

Aged: 10 years

Cask Type: Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon

Abv: 54.1%

Colour: 5YR 6/10

Nose: Orange, strawberry, lemon peel, hot chocolate, sulfur, grapefruit

Lots of sherry cask influence. Citrus notes dominate.

Nice amount of sulfur and hot chocolate going on here, which I never thought I’d enjoy. Granted I’ve never really eaten many eggs, and that’s the only way I’d taste sulfur. That or lived near both a chocolate factory and a sulfur mine.

So I guess I’m not that worldly I guess. But they went well together.

Taste: Ginger, orange, strawberry, cherry, plum, lime, cranberry

Again, sherry cask is really doing it’s job. Lots of spice, orange, and red fruit notes.

I’d almost say this was completely sherry dominated. I get the feel there’s some whisky in here. Somewhere. Somehow. Maybe the wood aspect in the cranberry? Or the orange? Hard to tell.

Finish: Malt, chocolate, bitter cherry, rosemary, sulfur, orange

Finishes with more bitter element, and comes back to the nose. Tastes more like a whisky now, because I’m more into whisky, thus writing whisky reviews.

I know, you’re as surprised as I am.

Conclusion: A young, very sherry forward whisky. I think the lack of peat in the dram will mean that GlenDronach may have to cut back on the sherry influence moving forward, as it’s being lost somewhat in the sherry.

That all said, this was pretty complex for a young dram, had nice amounts of sulfur and spice, and was really chocolate-y and fruity. I liked it, but others may want something more balanced.

81/100

Scotch review #512, Highland review #89, Whisky Network review #831