The GlenDronach Original Aged 12 Years Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 70cl

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Can I tell these apart? Sure. But can I tell if one has been processed differently from the other? Of course not. A few drops of water seem not to affect the nose, palate, or finish. Odd, that. I suggest leaving out the water, although it might sweeten things a tad, if that’s how you prefer it. We deliver to a number of international destinations including the USA. Please use the 'Change Location' link above for an estimate in your local currency or find out more about international delivery

More likely, the immediate improvements to the Walker Glendronachs can be attributed to the switch to 100% sherry casks and upping the strength to 43%, both of which would have a far greater impact on the whisky’s flavour than the presence or absence of colouring or chill filtration.The sweetness is just a little too much (and I like sweet things), and I find the sherry influence seems to overwhelm everything else. Still, a tasty dram. Entering the discussion, I couldn’t help but focus on my preconceptions about what this new chill-filtration process entailed. My pre-emptive questions were about why the decision had been made to filter the liquid, who had made that decision, what Brown-Forman was trying to achieve by incorporating such a drastic step, how much it even cost to run one of these machines, and what the impact on the liquid itself would be– a liquid that had built its reputation on natural presentation and incredible taste. Now, in my career (not giving too much away about Hamish’s daily activities), I often ask my clients and customers: “If you were to wave a magic wand right now, what would you want delivered? What would deliver value and make you happy?” I ask this now, as a whisky drinker, of you and the wider enthusiast group. ‘Value’ is the word of 2022 when it comes to our whisky purchasing. What a lot of us expect from our precious brown liquid, for our hard-earned money –let’s wave that magic wand – is: In all the current hoo-hah, it’s rarely mentioned that it’s actually extremely unusual for any whisky under 46% not to be chill filtered. The haze that chill filtration is designed to remove is caused by long chain fatty acids forming in the whisky in cold conditions (which frequently occur during transit). However, the magic 46% at which chill filtration is not required is just a rough guide - different whiskies will have fatty acids whose lipid tails clump together at slightly varying temperatures, so not all sub-46% whiskies exposed to low temperatures will automatically immediately go hazy. Before embarking on draconian measures, boycotts, tattoo removal etc, it might be best to consider that this is without a doubt the most minor change ever to occur in the history of this long-storied single malt whisky.

I think this is my first taste of a GlenDronach. This is the entry level of the range which is matured for 12 years in a mix of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks. Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). All whisky is filtered to a certain extent, with barrier-filtered whiskies often making their way into cask-strength bottlings. Not all chill-filtered whiskies are subject to the huge industrial and forceful filtration technique we associate with the blends and mass-market malts we all know. The definition of chill-filtration, in my opinion, potentially needs to be re-assessed as our knowledge of whisky grows and the whisky-making process is refined and altered as time goes on. Finish: The palate settles into a chewy finish of medium length and features more wood and baking spice influence. Cardamon, nutmeg, and more ginger all come through.

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Finish: Now this is the part that surprised me a bit... In a good way because its quite long and interesting. The finish turns out to be quite dry with bittersweet blood orange, dry oak, creamy nuts, milk chocolate and the red fruits return too. Lots of chocolate candy notes in this one. But where is the sherry? I just am not getting it at all. This is honey and choccies. And it is smoooooth. I still want to try the 15, but I like this enough as it is to not feel the need to pull the trigger on the 18. Not yet anyway.

Nevertheless, the presentation of a whisky surely gives us an insight into the attitude and mindset of a producer when bottling an expression (be it a special release or a core range product). The distiller and blender are saying to us, “This is the best product we can deliver. This is our spirit, and we are proud.” With more and more new distilleries releasing inaugural bottlings and beginning to distribute their core range, we are seeing these three requirements met from almost all of them. They aren’t produced for blends: they are setting up their stall and proudly displaying their liquid in as natural a form as they can.Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates. Moving out first is some sweet ripe red fruit like strawberry, cherry and raspberry. A sherry that is more subtle than on the nose mixes with some malt, a hint of wood, a bit of citrus, leather and sweet tobacco. The palate is a bit more complex than the nose, but not wildly so and again it doesn’t really matter because what’s there is very nice. In 2004, with the Sherry 15-year-old now discontinued, Glendronach 12 Year Old Original was revived, with the strength at 40% but retaining its ‘original’ 1980s cask recipe of ‘Sherry Wood and Traditional Oak Barrels’. This unloved Original was the last of its type before Billy Walker’s Benriach company bought Glendronach in 2008. Yet the modern Glendronach Original must have been made from steam-distilled spirit since around 2017. Evidently the change in spirit character was hidden or smoothed by sherry casks and skillful blending, and if they can balance that big of a change we’d imagine that the present challenge should be a doddle for someone as talented as Rachel Barrie. If there wasn’t an uproar after the seismic switch from coal to steam powered distillation, it seems unlikely that a change as relatively minor as chill filtration should make that much of a difference. It’s 12 years of tastiness all rolled up and dumped into a 750ml glass bottle. It’s a really nice, accessible and tasty single malt that just about anyone could easily grab off the shelf and enjoy. There’s enough complexity for “seasoned pros” to enjoy while not so overly complex that less experienced drinkers would feel lost or overwhelmed. It’s a simple, straightforward and tasty whisky that I’m enjoying every single second of.