Glendronach Hand Filled at the distillery, 26yo

After taking a taxi for an hour and a half journey from Aberdeen to the Glendronach distillery, the least I could do was bottle my own "juice." The truth is, it was an incredible experience, which is why I selected it for my 500th review. This Glendronach comes from cask #218, filled on June 5, 1992, and bottled on May 24, 2019, meaning it lacked 12 days for 27 years of maturation. This is easily discernible from the almost black ebony color of the whisky drawn from the barrel. The best thing that could have happened was spilling a little because I poured too much, which allowed me to try it, gather tasting notes, and guess what? It's one of the finest whiskies I've sampled, and I'm sure it will be among my top contenders this year. Bottled at 59% ABV, the nose of this "monster" revealed: nuts, almonds, chocolate, toffee, "colacao," a tiny hint of peat, and lemon. On the palate, it literally tastes like a thousand-leaf candy! It also has coffee, milk chocolate, and Dulce de Leche; all enveloped in a spicy oakiness typical of a 26-year-old dram. The aftertaste is simply sublime, with very distinct chocolate notes, ginger, tobacco, peat, and ashes. I rated it 101 out of 100, not only because each of those points is justified in the palate, nose, aftertaste, and balance, but also because it provided me with a spectacular experience. Cheers, friends!

July 2, 2019