13 September 2010 Ruben GlenDronach

GlenDronach 1993 (cask #529)

Name: GlenDronach 1993 (cask #529)
Brand: GlenDronach
Rating: 2 (2 reviews)

This GlenDronach 1993 cask 529 is another oloroso version. It’s the youngest expression in this year’s single cask series.

GlenDronach 17 yo 1993 (60,5%, OB 2010, oloroso sherry butt #529, 627 btl.)

Nose: the first thing that struck me was rubber with hints of mushrooms and a sulphury note of fireworks. It’s similar to GlenDronach 15yo Revival in that respect, but less subtle. Also hints of walnuts and meat. On a second level there are hints of mint, cloves, parsley and wet earth with just a hint of sweet berries. A bit of water makes the red fruits stand out.

Mouth: very sherried and very spicy with pepper, cloves and cinnamon. Still a bit beefy, earthy and dirty. Hints of dates. Very nice chocolate notes in the end. Again fruitier and more balanced (less spicy) with water.

Finish: long with spices and hints of berries again.

Personally I don’t find this kind of nose very appealing, the sulphur is just too prominent for me (once you’ve nosed another vintage, this one really stands out… in a negative way). On the palate it was better but still not completely convincing. Around € 90. I’d save that money for one of the others.

Score: 75/100

10Comments

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1

MARS on 13 September 2010 at 10:12

This one look interesting. In fact, much more interesting than the other one. I like the notes of fireworks in a whisky, but maybe I am not going to like it here.

75 points is quite harsh. I supose you give some disqualifications points for the sulphury notes!
2

Charlie on 13 September 2010 at 10:27

I tried this 1993 single cask from a half full bottle and did not notice the sulphury stuff though.
3

Steffen Bräuner on 13 September 2010 at 10:41

NIce with someone pointing out the rubber in a sherry whisky

I tried a newly opened 33yo GD and it was terrible sulphured, not rubber but sulpher. A couple of weeks later I tried a tasting from a dreg bottle (at the distillery actually)…no sulphur

Maybe my experience and Charlie’s is conmnected in the sense that sulphur do dissapear with a bit of time

Macdeffe
4

Ruben on 14 September 2010 at 00:45

You’re right, these notes can disappear. I have the impression my sample has slightly changed after one week of breathing, but it’s still not clean at all. It has even developed some hints of cooked cauliflower and broccoli (two vegetables with high levels of sulphur compounds).
5

Duffer on 14 September 2010 at 07:41

They CAN disappear, but sometimes it stays forever. I have got a 1977 Glen Grant (Coppers Choice) which was undrinkable when opened and now – a year after opening – is still undrinkable…
I have experienced that the sulphur dissapears or tones down in several bottles, but not in this one
6

S. on 31 March 2011 at 02:50

Hello Rubén,

there is ABSOLUTELY NO sulphur on this Single Cask bottling 529 at 60.5% which I tried from a 5cl sample bottle the distillery sent and from my very own bottle which I’ve just opened this Monday 28th March because I was really blown away by the sample!…

I reckon you may also be blown away if you try the 2002 Single Bourbon cask 8 year old Glendronach exclusively for La Maison du Whisky, unless you’re like Serge Valentin who doesn’t really like that so-called modern Bourbon matured aspect…

I reckon there could possibly have been an error on this post confusing it with another cask that isn’t this 529.
7

Ruben on 31 March 2011 at 08:16

Hi Selim, I can confirm it was cask #529. I’ve basically tried the whole series of single casks head-to-head and #529 really stood out as the earthy, meaty, consommé-type, rubbery, mushroomy of the pack. That’s generally not my type of sherry.
I don’t think I was being harsh, check this: http://onversneden.com/2010/12/09/de-glendronach%E2%80%99s-single-cask-2010/
Or check Dominic Roskrow’s notes here:
http://www.whatdoesjohnknow.com/2010/11/18/guest-reviews-focus-on-glendronach-with-dominic-roskrow/
Let’s not forget tastes differ, tasting conditions even more, and some people are simply not sensitive to certain aromas in the first place.
8

fr on 18 February 2015 at 18:52

http://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/16688/glendronach-1993
9

WhiskyNotes on 18 February 2015 at 20:03

Not sure what you’re trying to prove with this link. In any case most of the people there find meaty notes, Maggi, sulphur, rotten wood, damp earth… Considering the scores, most seem to find this pleasant. I don’t.

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