110: Glendronach Highland Whisky with Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie

The Spirit Guide Society

What we drank:

Glendronach 12

Glendronach 15

Glendronach 18

Glendronach Port Wood

Glendronach Cask Strength

Glendronach Master Vintage 1993

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From the Glendronach website: Glendroanch.com

SHERRY CASK CONNOISSEURS SINCE 1826

Nestled in the valley of Forgue, deep in the East Highland hills, is The GlenDronach, one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, creating the finest richly sherried single malts for nearly 200 years.

The GlenDronach is of true Highland style: a heavy and robust spirit, perfect for a long maturation period in sherry casks. At The GlenDronach Distillery, we have carried forth the tradition of our founder James Allardice since 1826, maturing our whisky in the finest Spanish Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía.

We continue to work towards mastering the art of sherry cask maturation, and our Highland whiskies are recognized for their deep colour and rich flavour profiles, which range from sweet fruity flavours, from the Pedro Ximenez casks we select, to the dry and nutty notes, from superb Oloroso casks. Our well-kept secrets have been guarded for nearly 200 years by a parliament of rooks who love The GlenDronach so much they try to nest in the warehouses. The distillery folk believe as long as the rooks remain at the distillery, it will be good for the whisky.

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME

In 1826 the exuberant and extroverted James Allardice founded the distillery and produced his ‘Guid GlenDronach’ single malt. Down the years, the distillery he created has thrived under the stewardship of far-sighted investors like Walter Scott in 1847 and Captain Charles Grant in 1920. In more recent times, GlenDronach was bought in 1960 by William Teacher & Sons. Originally, all of the workers at GlenDronach lived on site, including the distillery manager, staff, excise man, brewer and all of their families. To this day many of the old houses still remain. The most famous of them all is Glen House, which was built in 1771. Home to many of the distillery’s managers, the grand Georgian building could probably tell a tale or two. Rumour has it; the front room is haunted by a Spanish lady, who travelled over to Scotland in a sherry cask. Apparently she is quite partial to the odd tipple now and then. In 1968, GlenDronach was released as a single malt brand for the first time and the brand’s reputation grew from strength to strength. In 2008, nothing less than a complete renaissance began. The BenRiach Distillery Company became GlenDronach’s proud new owner. While time can never stand still, the commitment of the team at GlenDronach will ensure that the distinctive practices that have always defined the distillery will live on – the most influential of these, its return to independent ownership.

GLEN HOUSE

Originally, all of the workers at GlenDronach lived on site, including the distillery manager, staff, excise man, brewer and all of their families.

To this day many of the old houses still remain.

The most famous of them all is Glen House, which was built in 1771. Home to many of the distillery’s managers, the grand Georgian building could probably tell a tale or two. Rumor has it; the front room is haunted by a Spanish lady, who traveled over to Scotland in a sherry cask. Apparently she is quite partial to the odd tipple now and then. Today, Glen House is used for corporate entertainment and is enjoyed by guests from around the world.

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Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/