GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10

What a magnificent distillery, truly the best on the planet! When you see "Glendronach," "Batch," and "Strength" together, you know a fantastic experience awaits. During a visit to the distillery in May, I participated in a tasting event. The first whisky presented was Batch 10 from The Glendronach's annual cask strength releases. Bottled at 58.6% ABV, this sherry-forward expression displays a very deep red color. On the nose, it's a powerful Oloroso sherry, with hints of shortbread, peppery notes, and dried oranges. A rich nutty aroma is present, along with some granola notes. The palate was superb. Red fruits, children's cereal, blackberries, and red berries are prominent. It has a wine-like character, nutty, and full of raisins. I really enjoyed this. The aftertaste was somewhat disappointing. It was excessively oaky, with a strong sawdust presence and an overall woody finish, which I dislike in a whisky. In summary, this is a very good whisky, but it falls short of being the absolute best Glendronach or even the best batch strength offering. I recently tried batch 11, which earned a perfect score from me. This one's underwhelming aftertaste led to most of its point deductions. My rating for this is a solid 89 out of 100. I recommend trying batch 11 instead.

Nose: Nutty, citrus, mocha, dried fruits. Palate: Fruitcake, festive, chocolate cherries, orange zest, chocolate raisins, candied ginger. Distinctly sherried. Finish: Moderate length. Stone fruits, dates, leather, chocolate/cocoa, coffee. Sherry dominates!!! A sourness on the aftertaste. This is a powerful, coating sherry bomb! Full of cocoa, chocolate, and dried fruit flavors. The cask strength is very apparent, contributing to a slightly rougher mouthfeel. Delicious, viscous, and rich. A fine dram. It tied for second place out of six samples, receiving 14% of the votes for favorite of the night. Half of those present indicated they enjoyed the whisky. There was considerable negative discussion in the chat regarding the current distribution practices of the brand's bottles, which may have affected the rating.

For something as sherry forward as this expression is, the balance and complexity that GlenDronach achieved here is really quite special. The nose is vibrant and teases the major notes from the palate: orange, chocolate, sultanas, and stone fruits can all be found here. The velvety palate arrives with warmth, but not heat, and packs a punch of fruitcake, citrus and spice - a perfect whisky to enjoy at the holidays. However, the palate quickly cedes the stage to the real star of this show: the finish. Long, intense, and layered, this whisky's finish leaves you wanting to experience it again and again. The sultanas, mocha, and oak linger long after the dram is done. Cask Strength Batch 10 is a superb effort by GlenDronach and worth well more than its modest MSRP.

Nose: coffee, festive cake, deep chocolate, toasting Palate: sweet preserves, raisins and baking spices; a bit of water opens it up and brings cherry. Calling this a rich whisky is an understatement. Finish: extended, warm ginger spice. More sweetness. A distiller's whisky, number 12.

Quite enjoyable, with the sherry prominent. It certainly doesn't present as cask strength. Expertly combined and packed with taste. I'm really happy with all aspects of this one. Fans of Glendronach will appreciate this bottling.

The aroma is sweet and sharp, resembling a whiteboard marker or antiseptic cleaner. The taste is heavily influenced by alcohol, due to the cask-strength ABV. Diluting with water revealed notes of caramel and vanilla in both the aroma and taste.