Lately I also enjoy a nice glass of Whisk(e)y from time to time. I am a real enthusiast but not a real connoisseur. Sometimes I buy a Whisk(e)y by name, or specific characteristics, or (which is always possible here in the liquor store) I first taste before purchasing one.
I got this Glendronach from a friend of mine, he didn't know it himself but had heard it said that this would be a nice Whisky. Apart from the fact that I thought it was very cool of him, that he gave me such a beautiful bottle, I was very curious about the taste.
It's a peated Whiskey but (from the highlands) , at least I don't think it's smoked too much. (by the way, I really like smoky whiskey). The bottle is a nice traditional one with a nice classic look. From a Whisk(e)y tasting I understand that many Whisk(e)y's are colored during the process, not so much by the process itself but artificially by the addition of (natural) dyes. If I may believe the reviews this one isn't, so in most cases it would be noted on the bottle. I this case it was is written on the bottle-case. So this one is not artificially coloured.
Peated Whiskies from the Higlands are quiet rare because of the proces. When a distillery uses peated malt they have to clean their equipment very good to get rid of the peated taste, and mainly the core business are non peated ones.
The color of the Whisky is quite dark, does this betray the taste? First of all I smelled the glass, they say the Whisky experience is 70% nose and 30% taste. The smell was strong but not an overpowering smoke smell. An aroma of, well what shall I say, several (almost) slightly sweet scents. The Whisky is kept on Sherry and Port casks.
The flavor, then, was quite firm, strong but not overly smoky. It was somewhere between a non-smoky and smoky whisky. I liked him very much. 48% alcohol is also not the least, you can feel this reasonably in the aftertaste. All in all a very nice Whisky of which I will definitely take another one tonight.
As last a tour at the distillery
Source
Have a great weekend,
Peter