I know these seemingly random finished GlenDronach were (are?) quite popular, and generally sold out pretty quick. I just don’t really get them. Yes, you might want to offer something different from your sherry matured core range, but when that core range is so good, everything else almost inevitably falls short.
So you could say I’m skeptical when it comes to the GlenDronach 18 Years Old Tawny Port Finish. Maybe that’s unfair, but I can’t help how I feel.
GlenDronach 18 Years Old Tawny Port Finish (46%, OB, 2014)
Nose: A tad spicy, but overall the chocolate (cocoa powder, pralines) and even more so, the red fruit (strawberries, raspberries, cherries), dominate. There’s some room left for rose petals though, as well as a tinge of orange syrup. Doesn’t feel very well integrated though.
Taste: Big oily, fatty wine influence. Overtly sweet with a spicy edge (cinnamon). The red fruits make an encore. Hints of apricots too. However, it’s that candy-esque, syrupy feeling that lingers.
Finish: Sweet. Medium in length.
Score: 80
I mean, it’s hard to find the influence of the malt spirit in this GlenDronach, which is a pity. Therefore, it lacks balance, if you ask me. Not my type of whisky.
