Scotch whisky distillery The GlenDronach has continued its long-running small batch release program, unveiling the highly coveted Grandeur 2023 Edition. Effectively known as ‘Batch 12’, the latest release is a bold take on the distillery’s house spirit, but this drop isn’t your average run-of-the-mill limited bottling. According to the team behind the Scotch producer, Grandeur 2023 is ‘one of its most luxurious expressions to date’.
Admittedly, putting ‘Scotch’ and ‘Luxury’ in the same sentence feels rather benign. By its nature, whisky is the ultimate considered indulgence, the kind of everyday luxury that binds both rich listers and laymen, but The GlenDronach’s assessment doesn’t come from nowhere.
The East Highland distillery’s latest effort plays very much off the house style of rich sherry flavours and a heavy dried fruit character, only this time, dials it up to 11. Master blender Rachel Barrie hand-selected a number of rare sherry casks for the release, ensuring that each vessel would impart some degree of flavour to the finished product. What remains is a 29-year-old single malt bursting with cocoa, damson plum and glazed cherry on the nose.
“Every year since its inception in 2010, each limited edition batch of The GlenDronach Grandeur series has been highly anticipated and acclaimed, revered by connoisseurs and malt whisky aficionados for its magnificence of character and full-bodied style and this is one of its most luxurious expressions to date,” Barrie said. “Batch 12 is sure to be no exception, with its exceedingly rich, exuberant and full-bodied sherry cask style, crafted from a bespoke selection of our oldest and most magnificent Oloroso sherry casks.”
As with most GlenDronach releases, Batch 12 arrives with a complex flavour profile and a trademark rich mahogany hue, courtesy of the Pedro Ximénez casks. According to Barrie, each individual bottle is sealed with wax and numbered by hand to reflect its rarity.
“The mesmerising hue of dark mahogany sets the scene as the prelude to a magnificent overture of sherry aromatics,” Barrie said. “Exuberant notes of plum, glazed cherry, spiced bramble and date take centre stage before a crescendo of raisin, cocoa and espresso plays into the triumphant grand finale, leaving a memorable and richly rewarding tobacco and sherry-soaked walnut finish.”
As one of the major milestones on The GlenDronach release calendar, Grandeur Batch 12 marks a welcomed return to traditional craftsmanship. Naturally rich with sherry-forward flavours and dry, nutty notes, the new GlenDronach Grandeur Batch 12 is bottled at 49.2 per cent ABV and is available to buy from specialist retailers worldwide now.
