Glendronach 1994 Distillery Exclusive #1189 how about that? I visited the distillery in 2016 and decided to take a full tour and tasting. It was a lot of fun and I had some very good drams! I had the chance to taste the Glendronach 1994 two times, but both from different casks. (Next to cask #1189 I also tasted cask #3399). Once back home, I sat down with both samples to taste them side by side and took the time to write my tasting notes. Now how is this Glendronach 1994 compared to cask #3399?
This Glendronach 1994 distillery exclusive #1189 is 21 years old and has matured in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry Puncheon cask and is bottled at 54.1% ABV.
Glendronach 1994 Distillery Exclusive #1189 notes:
Nose: I have to work quite hard to get sweetness and fruits. Oranges, citrus, leather. With water that is a lot easier to get out of this whisky. The first impression is not top notch. Later on I get some more leather, dark fruits and brown sugar. After some breathing it becomes much better. Now I like it quite a lot. Funny how a first impression might be setting you off. (or at least I got that) With water more on figs and sweet fruits.
Taste: Oranges, citrus, creamy, dark chocolate and espresso. Sugar and a little barley followed by plums and figs. With water much sweeter, I don’t think you should add water. Although the citrus and oranges surface a bit more. But you will lose that dark chocolate and creamy flavour (although you will still get that).
Finish: Drying mouth, sweet, oranges and strawberries. It´s leathery but also fresh. A bit of chili pepper and oak at the very end. I almost would say a bit of menthol but I am not really sure on that.
Overall: Like in the nose I also get some faint sulphur in the taste. Not as much as I got in the nose but still there. Really taking your time will show a very rounded and fully layered whisky. But first impression to me is not the best. It’s a strange mix between the citrus / oranges and the chocolate / leather. But if you love the Glendronach profile I think you will like this (a lot 😉 ).
I would say this one has a bit of a sourness to it that I don’t get in the #3399 cask. It’s a very good Glendronach though don’t get me wrong on this, but I prefer cask #3399 over this one.
You can read the tasting notes for cask #3399 here.
