GLENDRONACH TO THE FORE

 RACHEL BARRIE PUSHES OUT THREE NEW END-2024 NAS EXPRESSIONS

It may be difficult to digest, but Glendronach has been a start and stop distillery from its founding way back in 1826, when James Allardice inherited the Boynsmill Estate and, partnering the locals, built his distillery there, producing what was called 'The guid Glendronach'. A destructive fire in 1837 virtually wrote off the well-performing distillery, leading to his bankruptcy in 1842.

Allardice’s promotional activities had however stood the whisky in good stead. Seeing its potential, one Walter Scott came forward in 1852, and rebuilt the distillery to its current condition, before passing it on to John Somerville & Co. in 1887. Following the Great War – during which period Glendronach fell into government ownership – the distillery was picked up by Captain Charles Grant, the youngest son of Glenfiddich founder William Grant in 1920, who went on to incorporate Glendronach Distillery Company in 1927. It remained with that family for 40 years.

Moving thus in fits and starts through a number of owners and companies, some illustrious, it reached William Teacher & Sons’ company in 1960, who used it copiously in its age-stated Blended Scotch whiskies successfully through the 1960s and further, till subsumed by Allied Distillers in 1976. Two 12-year-old expressions were released in 1991– one aged in ex-Bourbon, one in ex-Sherry – a real innovation for the time due to the fledgling scotch single malt market, followed by the original version of The Glendronach 15-Year-Old, bottled at 40% ABV. Unfortunately, the brands never received any serious backing and the distillery was ultimately mothballed.

After nine separate owners through nearly two centuries, the distillery along with 35,000 casks of maturing whisky finally ended up with The BenRiach Distillery Company, owned by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey producer, Brown-Forman in 2008. In 2009, The Glendronach 15-Year-Old was reintroduced, bearing the expression name ‘Revival’, as part of the brand’s new core range. These age statement bottlings contained considerably older stocks – the peak for The Glendronach 15-Year-Old was in 2015, when consumers were actually enjoying a 21-Year-Old whisky. One didn't need a crystal ball to make a forecast!

The Glendronach’s rapid growth in popularity and demand led to the expression’s discontinuation in 2015, due to a lack of maturing stocks and the need to preserve the older aged stocks. In 2018, The Glendronach 15-Year-Old returned to the brand’s core range, with one difference– there were no 21-year-olds in the mix. One of the most popular sherried single malt whiskies on the market, the Glendronach Revival 15-Year-Old proved itself as a multi-award-winning release, including the ‘Best in Show’ whisky category winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2020).

Master Blender Rachel Barrie joined Benriach in 2017 and has been the driving force behind four new releases. First came the The GlenDronach Cask Strength release in 2023. Batch 12 of this NAS 58.2% ABV release boasts exceptional depths of sherry cask maturation, carrying forth the legacy of James Allardice, marrying Highland spirit to Spanish oak. As with all expressions of The GlenDronach, the natural colour is drawn from slow maturation in PX and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía in Spain.

This hugely popular dram made its first appearance back in 2012 and remains a top-class combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks bottled without colouring or chill filtration at its natural cask strength, around an average strength of 58% ABV.

Now we have three more NAS releases, in The Master’s Anthology, a collection of Highland Single Malts celebrating almost 200 years of expertise in crafting rich and complex single malts. Each expression is composed to celebrate a different aspect of the rich and rewarding Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky; Ode to The Valley, Ode to The Embers and Ode to The Dark.

Drawing upon decades of skill and dedication, the releases explore the aromatic depth and character of The Glendronach’s signature sherry cask whisky, culminating in some of the richest, darkest expressions ever crafted from the historic Boynsmill House, a tribute to the art of sherry cask maturation.

The Ode to The Valley—46.2% ABV, RRP £67— is a fruit-forward expression of floral nectar and summer berry notes, matured in port and sherry casks. A rare peated expression, the Ode to The Embers —48.4% ABV, RRP £72—blends smoky peat with spiced richness from Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks. The richest expression, the Ode to The Dark—50.8% ABV, RRP £77—offers notes of layered chocolate, black cherry, and dates, matured in Pedro Ximénez casks.

The collection, launched this month, will become part of Glendronach's permanent portfolio, alongside its age-statement core range. Currently available in Germany and the UK, it will be available globally through 2025.