The oldest whisky from Batch 16 of the GlenDronach single casks. It seems we’re about to run out of the 1970s and 1980s entirely. Bottled from a Pedro Ximénez puncheon: GlenDronach 1989 cask #5476.
Its sister cask #5475 was already bottled as part of Batch 7 back in 2012.
GlenDronach 28 yo 1989
(49,9%, OB 2017, Pedro Ximénez puncheon #5476, Batch #16, 546 btl.)
GlenDronach 28 yo 1989Nose: sweet and dark. Lots of earthy notes, moss and mint leaves, as well as heavy roast coffee and dark chocolate truffles. Toasted walnuts and hints of forest fruits jam. A hint of sawdust, but I’m missing a bit of varnished oak here, the caramel sweetness seems to have flattened it a little.
Mouth: dark toffee and chocolate again, with brown bread and plenty of oak spices. Nutmeg, pepper and cloves. A little orange peel and camphor. A whiff of smoke and roasted nuts. Quite savoury overall.
Finish: long, spicy, with treacle, cinnamon and a charred note.
Really good, but very dark and spicy, lacking a bit of the bright fruits and polished notes that lift the best GlenDronach single casks. Expensive: originally around € 375.
Score: 88/100