Let’s see if it can surprise me and that hopefully in a positive way

Appearance:
Color: Mahogany to brown chocolate. Very oily as the streaks on the glass flow down slowly.

Nose: 87/100 points
Lots of intense dark and dried fruits, red berries, honey, some tabaco. The alcohol is stinging a bit but that is not surprising considering the high ABV. Caramel and a hint of chocolate coming through. Later a dry dusty oak shows up.
With water the alcohol is less intense and the sweet flavors becoming stronger.

Taste: 88/100 points
Very intense dark fruits kicking in directly at the beginning which immediately stimulate the saliva flow. Plenty of dry fruits filling your mouth. Mainly raisins. Then bread dough of a mixed bread appears. Later caramel and the hint of chocolate again. Some fruit sourness is also there. Next I get is oak and some tabaco wrapped in leather but those are more in the background.
With water the flavors not really change. At least I can’t notice any significant change to it.

Finish: 90/100 points
wonderful aromatic finish.
Strong intense fruity finish. very long and warming. Lots of red berries, dried and dark fruits, chocolate, caramel and tabaco. The fruity flavors stay incredibly long on the tongue and inside the mouth. Super intense finish. Wow!
Also here the water doesn’t change the flavors. Those still stay strong and intense.

Conclusion:
the force is strong with this one. Many of the aspects and flavors of this Whisky fulfilled my expectations. This one points with the finish. It’s been a while since I had a good dram with such an intense and flavorful finish. Really nice. Even after 30 minutes you still have the berries on your tongue. It also appears a bit older than 12 years imho.

Overall I give this Whisky: 88/100 WhiskyYoda points

here are some more detailed bottle information:

Brand	Glendronach	Cask/Batch#	5039
Series	Hand-Filled	Vintage	12.2011
Region	Scotland / Speyside	Bottled	03.2024
Bottler	Distillery Bottling	Age	12yo
Type	Single Malt	Non-Cillfiltered	yes
Casks	Oloroso Puncheon	Natural color	yes
ABV	62.4%	Whiskybase ID:	250411

more detailed information about the bottle as well as a link to the bottle page on Whiskybase.com you can find below.
I got this sample from a bottle share here in China. From that share I took 1x 2cl and 1x 10cl. Turns out that this was a good decision.

What are my expectations? Well, considering the color, casks, age and ABV I expect this Whisky to be enormous complex. I expect the oak to be quite intense but hopefully not too tart and bitter. I really looking forward to try this one. But first give it some time in the glass to breath. In this case considering the age I will let it breath for at least half an hour.
During that time I will have it covered.

Let’s see if it can surprise me and that hopefully in a positive way

Appearance:
Color: Dark Copper towards Mahogany. Very oily and thick. The streaks on the glass flow down very slow. The appearance is also very clear. very nice color.

Nose: 89/100 points
At the beginning I get a lot of oak flavors. after a while dried fruits show up, raisins and plums come through. Also a bit of caramel and some dark berries. Then it turns back into the oak which is covered in dusty leather. It appears less complex that I expected to be honest.

Taste: 93/100 points
yes, that is what I hoped to find. Old oak furniture, furniture polish, leather but not such dusty like in the nose, honey, dried fruits, raisins, plums. Some orange peels show up. Dark berries and dark chocolate join in. Nice oily feeling. A bit tart and sweet at the same time. Very nice full body. Quite complex

Finish: 92/100 points
wonderful aromatic and very very long finish.
Here most of the flavors of the palate also show up. The only difference is that those are now more sweetish and less tart. That finish lasts damn long, NICE!

Conclusion:
the force is strong with this one. Specially on the palate and the finish. Many of the aspects and flavors of this Whisky fulfilled my expectations. Just the nose I found a bit weak. However, since I’ve still got 10cl of it I will revisit it and then give it more time to open up. lets say at least one hour. I hope that this will enhance the flavors in the nose a bit. Also I might try to add a few drops of water to see if that can help to open up the nose a bit. The potential is definitely there. Let’s see if it can use the force a bit better next time. But it is definitely a really good Whisky.

Overall I give this Whisky: 91/100 WhiskyYoda points

here are some more detailed bottle information:

Brand	Glendronach	Cask/Batch#	474
Series	Single Cask	Vintage	1994
Region	Scotland / Speyside	Bottled	2023
Bottler	Distillery Bottling	Age	28yo
Type	Single Malt	Non-Cillfiltered	yes
Casks	Pedro Ximenez Puncheon	Natural color	yes
ABV	51.8%	Whiskybase ID:	240002

Remarks:
Great cask strength Glendronach. Very complex and voluminous if you give the whisky enough time in the glass. I definitely recommend doing this.

Overall I rate this Whisky:

• Nose:
  Sherry, dried fruits, plums, raisins, vanilla and caramel, some oak, the alcohol is well integrated. A light sweetness appears in the background with some chocolate. A few red berries come through. Nice pleasant smell.
  
  
• Taste:
  Strong start, a bit sharp at the beginning. Spicy, sherry, dried fruits and oak. After a while the spiciness decreases a bit and a few plums and raisins appear. Some fruit acidity also appears before a slightly bitter note emerges.
  
  
• Finish:
  Strong sherry aromas, dried fruits, old oak, slightly sweet, caramel, vanilla and chocolate. A slight oiliness remains.
  

Review written on 2024-03-11