Glendronach 12 year old, 1980's Bottling

Glendronach is my all-time favorite whisky distillery, and I had been longing to try an older bottling from them, one from before Billy Walker was Master Distiller, just to see how it compared to current expressions. I finally got my hands on a "rare" 1980s Glendronach 12yo. It was aged in second-fill ex-bourbon casks and then finished in sherry, unlike the current 12-year-old which is entirely sherried. Bottled at 40% ABV, it has a golden color. On the nose, I detect hay and oak, notes I often find in older whiskies. Red Apples are the primary scent. Honey and chocolate that has been kept in the fridge. A very pleasant floral aroma; it carries a caramelized apple scent that instantly brings to mind a childhood circus. Fresh fruitiness, a lovely aroma; subtle sugar. It smells like a hot apple pie from McDonald's, with hot cinnamon. After the first taste, I got a school glue note out of nowhere, which wasn't very appealing. Acetone. The second sniff was a bit of a letdown. After a minute, it released an amazing cotton candy aroma; very sugary. After a second taste, the aroma became extremely sweet: apples coated in dulce de leche. Toffee exploded here. I'm impressed by this aroma, especially for a 12-year-old. It's like very creamy vanilla ice cream. On the palate, more red apples. It gives me an "Aberlour" sensation. Cinnamon. Red apple peel, honey. The second taste brought out a fancy toffee. A spicy blend of hay and apples. The finish is spectacular. Hay and subtle smoke. Tobacco. A beautiful, very rewarding finish. The overall hay flavor is quite delightful. In conclusion, I truly believe this bottling is much better than the current 12-year-old expression. It's far more complex, and you can tell they used some very nice ex-bourbon casks for this whisky. I deducted a few points here and there, but the nose and finish were almost perfect. My score for this is a very well-earned 93 out of 100.