GlenDronach 2002 #708 (KWM Exclusive)

55.4% abv

Score:  89/100

Looks like the good folks at Kensington Wine Market have picked another winner here. 

You know I’m a sucker for the GlenDronach single casks, but what even I didn’t know was how special they can be even in this relatively young state of maturity.  I approached this whisky with middling expectations (herein conceded as an age bias) but must admit I was more than silenced with the first nosing. 

I won’t wax poetic about deep intricacies and subtle shadings on this one.  Here we have exactly what we’d expect in a sweet young sherry bomb.  Big, rambunctious and not for the faint of heart.  But what’s unique in the case of cask #708, a 602 bottle yielding PX puncheon, is just how clean and surprisingly vibrant this is in comparison to so many of its contemporary ‘bodega buddies’.  An ultra pristine cask here guarantees a superb ride from start to finish.   

Let’s go back to that previous concession of age bias for a minute or two.  While I’m not a whisky snob, I am cynical that a whisky is properly mature at the ripe old age of 11.  Even here…where we have a really neat whisky…I dread to think of how this would have turned out if it had been left to age for another decade or two.  GlenDronach’s history of exceptional older casks supports this supposition too, I might add, but I guess if they were all left to mellow into middle age we’d likely price ourselves out of the game in short order.  In short…I shouldn’t complain about having a great whisky at a fair price instead of an exceptional whisky at a prohibitive price.

Guess we’ll consider this yet another case where we lucky sods in Alberta make out like bandits.   

Nose:  Big, BIG chocolate fudge.  Great spices, nutmeg in particular.  A little bit of an Amrut sort of profile here.  In fact, if I tried this blind, I’d likely think it was an Amrut.  Almond.  Mincemeat tarts.  Great dark stewed fruits, and quite syrupy.

Palate:  More of that big chocolate.  Dark cherry and licorice.  Quite jammy…big and thick.  Cinnamon and nutmeg.  Lots of dried fruit, especially apricot.  Soooooo much melted chocolate.

Thoughts:  Very nice clean sherry cask.  89 points…maybe more.  The good folk at KWM have picked another winner.  Love this one.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt