Glendronach 1992 Single Cask 25 Year Old Scotch

Mar 8

Another admission: I’m a birth year hunter. ‘92 baby all the way. And, best of all, I happened to get into whiskey when these bottles were still available.

Keep in mind - this doesn’t mean I’m looking for mostly 20+ year-aged products - just ones distilled in 1992. For bourbons and other American whiskies, I’ve had only 1, maybe 2 over 15 years old that I enjoyed. My sweet spot there is closer to 6-12 years.

Scotch, though? I’ve had 6-year-old blends I’ve enjoyed and some 30+-year-olds that were fantastic as well - all in their own way. This particular bottle - a 25-year-old GlenDronach distilled in 1992, finished in Oloroso casks from Spain - was released specifically for Danish retailers. Similar bottles - with a purple tube - became known as the “Mace Windu” bottles. Seems over-the-top to me - Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t need any more royalties, does he?

Anyway - besides being a birthday bottle, this one fascinated me because of the two-and-a-half decades in sherry. I love sherry cask finishing - give me a cask-strength Highland Park any day. But this is slightly different. It’s a decade older than all but one of my Highland Park single casks, and is also not at cask strength. Would the sherry dominate a non-cask-strength whisky after so many years? Would the sherry hit a peak but mellow out? Would there be more GlenDronach or more Oloroso, or would they be in harmony? Let’s find out.

Oh - one more thing - as I write this, Whiskey in my Wedding Ring is celebrating International Women’s Day (on March 8th) and expanding that to a full week celebrating the women in whisky. This bottle celebrates - and is drunk - in honor of Dr. Rachel Barrie, of GlenDronach, BenRiach, and GlenGlassaugh distilleries. These are owned by Brown-Forman, for whom multiple women celebrated this week's work.

Dr. Barrie has one of the longest whisky resumes in the industry. Though only with Brown-Forman and the GlenDronach since 2017, she has made an indelible mark on each brand she touches. With GlenDronach fully up and running again, there’s no limit to what she can do next.

Glendronach 1992 Single Cask 25 Year Old: Specs

Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Origin: GlenDronach Distillery

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Proof: 96 (48% ABV)

Age: 25 Year Old

Location: Scotland, Speyside

Glendronach 1992 single Cask 25 Year Old Price: $275 (if available)

Official Website

Glendronach 1992 single Cask 25 Year Old Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Walnut/brown ale. Thin rims and thin syrupy legs.

Nose: Oloroso party - dark and rich, mulling spices present but not overpowering. Nerds candies. Hints of rancio and warming malt.

Palate: Spicy semisweet chocolate, heat centered on the tip of my tongue (mostly oak, a bit of proof). Freshly picked red fruits - plums and red berries especially. These fade to dark chocolate-covered berries. Mouthfeel accentuates the chocolate, stays spicy from the sherried oak, and stays coating and velvety.

Finish: Tons of semisweet chocolate, spicy, mulling spices return for a medium-length finish.

Overall: A powerful example of long-term oloroso finishing. Flavor-packed, drinks above proof without blowing out the palate, though I do think it’s just the tiniest bit unbalanced. The nose is quite tight, and while the palate and finish open up considerably, it feels like there’s more there that hasn’t opened yet.

Final Rating: 7.8

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)