A Eulogy for the GlenDronach (with capital “D”)
A lot has been said of the news that hit the whisky world smack in the middle of summer. Hardcore fans sighed with disgust, others maybe shrugged their shoulders and took it as it came. A new look for the Glendronach proprietary bottles. In all honesty this was long overdue, since the range was still bottled in the traditional whisky bottle. Simple, elegant, slender and with all spotlights on the label attached to the glass. These days however, you do not play in the Champions League of whisky if you are not bottled in fancy glass. Just take a look at (The) Glenturret, coming in Lalique bottles. We have seen revamping of whisky brands in new livery quite a lot over the last decade or so. I remember the days when it was considered news, when Highland Park did it, or Bowmore (apparently a new design coming up soon for Bowmore). And when it was met with a lot of criticism, like when Benromach went for a more simplified label.
The revamped Glendronach range is however not the issue. It was the language used to accompany the presentation of the new livery. Something about “an elevated luxury space” and aiming for “the luxury drinker” and (of course) “luxury marketing”. It made me think about a Scotch single malt brand that was once relevant, and today ridiculed, namely The Macallan. We have seen more beloved distilleries go down that rabbit hole, out of sight of the whisky enthusiast, and into the fold of people who think (single malt) whisky is the same as a Rolex or Ferrari. Chacun à son goût. Just hand me my Springbank. All brands will undoubtedly survive, each with their own legacy in the minds of enthusiasts and casual whisky drinkers alike.
The Glendronach distillery opened its doors in 1826 which is, taking out my calculator, exactly 200 years ago by the time we reach 2026. Let us say that in 200 years, someone else than me will write a blog about 400 years of Glendronach. He/she/they/them will look back at this peculiar and very short period of time when the name of the distillery was written with a capital “D”, so invented by short-time owner Billy Walker. Remember, he did the same to BenRiach, and GlenAllachie (but not to Glenglassaugh). It is almost unimaginable, but Walker’s reign over GlenDronach only lasted 8 years, from 2008 to 2016. Years about which you could say he drained the distillery’s vast reserves of superior sherry matured whisky, and then moved on. Indeed, gone are the days of full oloroso matured releases like the old GlenDronach Revival; current Master Blender Rachel Barrie chooses to use PX-casks in her new creations. One could wonder if this is out of necessity or a deliberate choice. Also chill-filtered now. We will taste an expression today.
The many, many GlenDronach whisky I got to taste in the Billy Walker years are ranked among the very best I ever got to savour. The various 1972 vintages that matured well into their 30s are legendary and on auctions you only see them for astronomical prices. The 1993 vintages have their own charm and are highly regarded as well. And practically all other single casks and batches released in those years are of high or at least entertaining quality.
Multiple tastings come to mind, of which I will commemorate two. The first one was a “1972 extravaganza” done with my best whisky friends during a visit to Speyside in 2011. We placed four blind samples on a table coming from 4 different 1972 single casks, and threw in one 1971 vintage (which everybody picked out of the lineup because of its much drier character). It was a red fruit, paxarette overload evening I will never forget. I saw a grown man on his knees, crawl around that low Parkmore Cottage living room table, sniffing the one glass after the other, and he was not even drunk. It was just heaven to smell these glasses, only equalled by the experience of drinking a 1972 GlenDronach straight from the cask earlier that day at the distillery.
The other amazing GlenDronach memory was selecting a bottling for the Usquebaugh Society, the oldest whisky club in The Netherlands. It was the early days of March 2013 and almost thirty club members travelled to the distillery in Forgue, to probe a range of samples, ultimately picking a Virgin Oak matured 2002 vintage. I had the great honour of writing the back label for that bottle. So, you know what? I too feel the pain of the premiumisation of GlenDronach, and this is my eulogy. The brand is probably going back to being simply written as Glendronach, following in the footsteps of Benriach, that rejoined the fold of being “just” a decent whisky brand.
Talking about Benriach, I bought one of these newer bottles, and I was positively surprised by the much higher quality of the core range, compared to older BenRiach core bottlings. Rachel Barrie is by all means one of the more brilliant Master Blenders in the industry, so I am not too worried that the Glendronach in new bottles will be bad. But when you have to pay more for the same stuff just because the owner wants to position your favourite drink as a luxury product… Well, this is a hard pill to swallow. But I guess the relaunch campaign had to be paid for.
The GlenDronach Revival 15 years old, bottled at 46 % abv
Makeup: Bottled in 2023, this batch is made up from stock matured in Pedro Ximénez & Oloroso Sherry casks. This used to be a non-chillfiltered single malt, but this statement is now gone. Still, I suggest you do not run to the freezer for some ice cubes. Show some respect.
General impressions: Rich in fruit from the various sherry influences. Traditional aromas like rum soaked raisins, forest fruit but also some warm butterscotch, fudge and breaded notes. A few moments later, oranges and clove emerge, making this a winter season whisky, but still I enjoy it very much now too. The taste is riddled with chocolate notes, ranging from milky hints towards more bitter influences on the finish. The balance is incredible, keeping it between warm raisin bread with some soft almond and high quality marzipan, and wood, chocolate and coffee notes.
Conclusion: The first GlenDronach Revival probably contained a lot of 1993 vintage casks, and it would be impossible to compete with modern day sherry casks against that character. Sherry casks are simply not the same anymore. Still, the last Revival to be filled in the old bottle is a classic sherried single malt, worth your time and money.
Score: 87 points
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