Glendronach Distillery

The Glendronach is a name that will perk the ears of many whisky enthusiasts, conjuring thoughts of sweet sherry influence, deep complexity, and unwavering quality. This Highland distillery has, at times, had a difficult history which has included multiple ownerships and not insignificant time mothballed. Despite these dark days, the story of Glendronach is one of revival and success under the care of the formidable Billy Walker and now Brown-Forman.

The distillery stands on the boarder between the Highlands and Speyside and is situated deep within the hills surrounding the town of Huntly. Approaching the distillery on my recent trip to the site, the industrial racked warehouses and iconic brick stillhouse stand isolated amongst the rural Scottish countryside.

Arriving in the main courtyard, the aroma of barley sugar and yeast liger heavy as the distillery sits unusually quiet today. First port of call is the visitor centre which unlike the main distillery building is a modern facility where generations of vintage and rare cask bottlings are a welcome sight. A Hand-fill cask is centre view, providing the faithful with the opportunity to themselves become a small part of the Glendronach story.

It is here we’re introduced to Neil, our extremely knowledgeable guide, and head of V.I.P. hospitality for the site, who leads us back into the courtyard and into the main distillery building. Glendronach is a ‘lived in’ distillery, characterised by a somewhat rustic appearance. Whilst it is clear the ownership and staff take great pride in their beloved distillery, it’s ‘rough edges’ are wonderfully authentic, serving as a reminded that the focus here is simply the quality of the product rather than the arguably superficial appearance of status perused by other ‘luxury brands’.

Entering the main building you are immediately greeted by the cast iron mash tun which dominates the relatively compact room. No mashes are taking place today, rather the unit is being cleaned and is thus completely open. Inside the smell of residual wort is ever present, where it is explained to us that mashes are created through the streaming of water into the unit, rather than the more common lauter system which see water sprayed more conservatively onto the grist. Glendronach aim to produce a clear wort with this process which contributes significantly to the citrus-fruit notes found in their new make spirt.

In the adjacent room we are show the malt mill; a Robert Bobby two stage roller mill built in 1925. Like many of its sisters across Scotland, this mill continues to operate flawlessly with only a modest level of maintenance required annually. The Glendronach Distillery is currently using unpeated malt exclusively, only sourced from Scottish producers. It is then we are shown the nine wooden wash backs which are juxtaposed by the modern computer system used to control the distillation. The aroma of this room is unforgettable, a lovely pungent sweet malty scent which is further exaggerated by the opening of Washback No. 4 as it has completed a fermentation.

The large number of washbacks allow for a significant annual output of 1.3 million litres per annum, which is a telling indicator of the distillery’s previous life providing malt whisky for the Teacher’s Blended Scotch from the 1960s onwards. This anonymous life as ‘blend-filler’ would ultimately prove near fatal in 1996 when the distillery was mothballed by owners Allied Distillers Ltd.

This decision was followed in kind by industry giant Chivas Brothers who a few years later mothballed serval ‘workhorse’ distilleries that where not ‘brands’ in their own right, as a consequence of large stock levels and low consumption. Fortunately, this state of hibernation was relatively shorted lived following the reopening of Glendronach in 2002 and acquisition by the aforementioned Chivas Brothers in 2006.

However, it was in 2008 that the Glendronach Single Malt would forever be etched into the landscape of Scotch Whisky permanently; enter Billy Walker. Mr Walker, private owner of The Benriach Distillery Co and world-renowned Scotch whisky authority, changed the course of Glendronach’s brand perception through the release of a 15 year old bottling which would prove popular amongst enthusiasts and aficionados alike. It became apparent shortly after the release of the Glendronach 15 that batches where characterised by an impressive maturity, indicating the use of much older stock in the blend. This revaluation, as well as Billy Walker’s commitment to non-chill filtration and a strict cask policy, transformed the Glendronach name into a byword for quality amongst whisky enthusiasts ‘in the know’. The Benriach Distillery Co and it’s sites where sold to Brown-Forman in 2016 who continue to support the brand as a single malt of quality and integrity, keen to respect the legacy left by the legendary Billy Walker.

After taking in the sites and smells of Glendronach’s washbacks, we are led to the distillery’s beating heart; the still room. The lingering malty aromas of the washbacks quickly dissipate as the wonderfully fruity smell of new make being collected in the spirit safe greets us. Two pairs of wash stills and spirit stills stand proud, wide and sporting reflux bowls which typically encourage a lighter bodied spirit to be collected. However, in this case, deeply angled line arms bolster the intensity of flavours parting a somewhat ‘spicy’ character to the new make.

Upon exiting the main distillery building, we are invited to a sampling session in the beautiful on site tasting room. Here I was able to sample the entire core range of Glendronach Single Malt as well as some limited-edition single cask bottlings of various vintages. Below are my thoughts and tasting notes on a 12 Year Old offering as I feel it highlight the distillery character well. Glendronach mature almost exclusively in ex-Sherry casks of various types which I found in all cases to be a highly complementary maturation regime for their sweet and floral new make spirt.

The Glendronach 12 Year Old (43% ABV)

Nose: Rich and spicy, a balance of lemon citrus as well as heavier fruit notes such as raisins and green apple

Palate: Toffee apple initially which fades to underlying notes of orchard fruits. Spice from the European oak is intense but fades quickly.

Finish: Sweet oak and sherry lead with fading notes Christmas cake

Comments: An excellent introduction to the Glendronach range, with much to offer beginners and more the experienced. The character of the new make sprit is well defined here providing the intense citrus and green fruit notes. The cask influence is thus surprisingly subtle for this style, largely imparting the ‘tradmark’ European oak spice.

The Glendronach Distillery and their single malt offerings continues to act as an important point of reference for how diverse sherry cask maturation can be and how the influence of active casks can impart well balanced flavours onto finely crafted new make spirit. Now established as a serious single malt, the future of the brand under the care of Brown-Forman looks bright. The contents of dunage warehouse 1 were a welcome sight to round off my visit. Sacked full of puncheons, pipes and butts all slowly maturing, it is clear that Glendronach will have many celebrated releases to come. Glendronach really is a must try single malt in all forms. Long may this continue.

Written by Luke Hingley-Smith