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.