Glendronach 10 Year SMWS 96.30 “Thor’s slippers”
Whisky : Glendronach 10 Year SMWS 96.30 “Thor’s slippers”
Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands
ABV : 59.5%
Cask : Ex-Bourbon/First Fill PX Sherry
Age : 10 Years (Distilled Oct. 30, 2008)
Nose : Rich and syrupy. Espresso crema, cherries in pancake syrup, figs, and a bit of brie soft cheese funk. Hints of old worn rubber slippers come along with some sulphuric burnt rubber cask funk.
Palate : Sweet and saccharine like a riesling ice wine. Rich and astringent like dark chocolate powder, while grape flavored syrup gives concentrated sweetness. A bit like a shave ice (snow cone) topped with sugary fruit syrups and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. One taster reckoned its candied sweetness was like a fruity tootsie roll.
Finish : Medium length candy sweetness and a hint of salty fish oil cutting some of the sugar.
Score : 6
Mental Image : Old Toe Jam Bunny Slippers
Something Better : Longmorn 25Y SMWS 7.219 (more defined tropical fruits, similar shave ice syrup)
Something Similar : Ardmore 8 Year; Cadenhead (more smoke/fire, similar espresso & chocolate)
Something Worse : Ohishi Sherry Cask (more syrup/artificial fruit, similar dark chocolate/yeast)
Notes : This is not really my style— I am neither a sherry aficionado nor am I a Glendronach groupie. If you are, then I am reasonably sure you would score this higher. It has excellent depth of flavor and the influence of the sherry comes on like a freight train. It was certainly a bit young, there was an obviously youth lack of finesse in the way the flavors barreled over one another. That was not always a bad thing though— and I did enjoy this more than other Glendronach I have had. Overall, it was a bit too sweet, too simple, and was not the flavor profile I usually seek out.
