Whisky : Glendronach 12 Year SMWS 96.27 “Furtive scone pesterer”

Country/Region : Scotland/Highland

ABV : 58.5%

Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 12 Years (Distilled 8 June 2006)

Nose :  Five year old’s birthday party: sugary vanilla birthday cake, buttercream frosting, and a giant handful of candy sprinkles.  To wash it down; fizzy 7-Up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist— a tasting bar of lemon-lime sodas.  The nose is sweet and sugary, fully-loaded with sticky pastry and hints of citrus.

Palate : Lovely viscous body carries waves of vanilla and orange.  It has a malty sweetness with a bit of salt, a bit of ginger, and a bit of holiday cinnamon.  After the sweets on the nose, the body feels remarkably restrained.  Floral notes of rich honey come toward the end.  Another taster put it succinctly, the profile is very “Glenmorangie-y.”

Finish : Medium to short finish as the sugar rush slowly fades away.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Spiced carrot cake with a side of Root Beer.

Something Better : Eigashima 12 Year Peated Cask Strength (similar soda & citrus notes, more complex)

Something Similar :  Glendronach 12 Year (similar body, more floral spices, longer sweeter finish)

Something Worse : Glendronach 12 Year SMWS 96.24 (less complexity, less clean flavors, less finish)

Notes :  A lovely change of pace from the last several Glendronachs I have tried.  This one took on some lovely wood spices and vanilla from the cask which really accentuated some of the subtle fruity notes from the malt.  The nose is a burst of sugar and citrus— a bit sticky if anything.  If the dram had any major weakness it was in the finish which faded much too quickly.  The Glendronach fans at the tasting table declared this was a pretty good showing from the distillery, but seemed to be pretty unanimous in their sentiment that the ex-sherry Glendronachs are on the whole better and more reliably tasty.

I am not a huge nut for the distillery either way.  I have never posted most of my reviews from Glendronachs simply because I have not found them terribly striking.  My notes always felt a little incomplete.  With the tasting group it is easier to leverage the hive mind and get a better sense for the dram, but I still do not really know what else to say about it.  It does in fact remind me of Glenmorangie as well, in a complementary manner.