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Glendronach 18 Year Old Allardice Sherry Cask

Masculin féminin

0 588

@RantavahtiReview by @Rantavahti

18th Apr 2016

0

Glendronach 18 Year Old Allardice Sherry Cask
  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    88

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Renamed after James Allardice, the founder of the distillery, this is GlenDronach's third core range expression. Non chill filtered and with natural colour, it is probably the darkest single malt I've ever encountered. 15YO Revival is probably as dark as Allardice.

I used Godard as my movie reference with Revival, so I’ll stick with that theme. 18YO Allardice is strong and even a wee bit rough, yet very sweet and jammy. A mix of masculinity and femininity. So it's very easy to state it as Masculin Feminin. A statement, which would fit Revival as well.

This single malt is strong, rich and dark, full of sherry notes. Almost as good as Revival, which still remains as my favorite sherry matured non peated whisky so far.

Nose: Strong varnish notes at the start, with hints of oak and Demerara sugar. Dry like rum. Dark and fruity with sherry notes and sulphur. Water makes the oak notes stronger.

Taste: Very thick body. Dark sherry and some fruit candy notes. Plummy jam with cocoa. Water makes it smooth and brings up raisins and orange marmalade.

Finish: Very long aftertaste, bitter red berries and menthol. Slightly dry and syrupy. Figs and some warming spices. Water adds smoothness again, yet making the menthol notes stronger.

Balance: Good dram in balance. Sweet and strong sherry whisky. Adding water makes it better.

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5 comments

M
MrFathom commented

This is a synopsis I would agree with. After first opening it would have only given it about an 85 but now definitely now more in that 88 range. If a bottle ofthe Revival, Allardice or Parliament was offered to you which would you choose and is Macallan 18 that much more superior than 2 bottles of any these? It hard for me to believe that Mac 18 is worth double but eh just getting into whisky.

After analyzing countless blogs about this matter it seems that pre-1992 Macallan 18 are excellent, but pretty much missed that boat(also Macallan Cask Strength). Anyway will drown my sorrows in a fine dram of Allardice. Cheers!!

8 years ago 0

@Rantavahti
Rantavahti commented

I like Revival most, Allardice would be second and Parliament third (was bit disappointed about it in a blind tasting). At the moment, GlenDronach would be my first choice when selecting a sweet sherry matured whisky. Note: this coming from a guy who isn't a big fan of über-sweet sherried whiskies...

Here's my Parliament review: connosr.com/reviews/glendronach/…

And Revival: connosr.com/reviews/glendronach/…

Macallan has never been my kind of whisky, even the 18yo got "bad points" from me, the review is 3 years old and the time I tasted it, goes way back even more. So my opinion might be different nowadays, with more experience about whisky. Here's the review: connosr.com/reviews/macallan/…

8 years ago 0

@Rantavahti
Rantavahti commented

I know this is just a matter of taste, but seems to me that Macallan has a big brand image. Kinda like being Volvo of whiskies (Volvo's brand image = safest car in the world, even though it may not be the reality). Was Macallan great in the beginning of 2000 and in the 90's and before that, but nowadays just making mediocre whisky? Maybe I should revisit some Macallans again (stopped trying them when I just didn't find anything great about 'em). And I have tried their age stated whiskies from the pre-NAS era so that can't be the reason for my bad Macallan experiences...

8 years ago 0

M
Multiedit commented

I agree with the Revival - Allardice sequence, but Parliament 21 does not come close, in my opinion. It was a huge disappointment, especially considering its price in Quebec, Canada ($194). Noticeable sulfuric notes does not go well with oloroso and PX casks and respective Apple, peach and Mellon notes. Macallan 18 is an excellent dram, and it's so sherry, that it is in its own category. Sulatanas, dried fruit and caramel. If you do not care about the price, but have a budget for one bottle only, my take is, go for Macallan 18. If you are price sensitive, then Revival is your dram.

8 years ago 0

M
MrFathom commented

Thanks for the input Rantavahti. The car comparison was amusing. Have had pretty good experience with Volvo in a road trip from Toronto to Montreal. Anyway I have had a fair sized dram of Macallan 18 from a friend back in the day when I had little experience and it was great for me. Anyway his bottle was stolen and the restaurants and whisky bars want to charge like $50 for one shot so quite hesitant to pay that much.

Multiedit currently been spending a fair bit on whisky and come from humble beginnings so Macallan 18 bottle would be a bit of splurge. As mentioned by others I could split the price with friends or sell them at cost a shot.The best price I have seen comes to about $300 Cdn and have to use an American connection. Need to network more in my area because I know have a couple bottles that very trade worthy. Wish we could trade as easily as Europe in Canada or even have access to Master of Malt. Our government must make a fair from alcohol tax and don't want to give up their monopoly. I know in Russia their liquor taxes make quite a bit for their government. Anyway seriously off subject.

To sum it up, if I can acquire couple more Revivals for decent price I will. They are a rare breed in BC. Have family on the east coast, but have used them recently quite a bit and they are slightly concerned with my spending on alcohol. Jokes!! The difference between Revival as pointed out by Multiedit is almost double.

8 years ago 0