The GlenDronach distillery sits in amongst a bountiful twist of bramble vines, on the edge of the Scottish Highlands where the land gives plentiful riches - The Ode to The Valley, apparently (Think the PR people may have been let loose, with that statement ). Combining sherry casks and ruby port casks from the renowned Douro valley in Portugal. Available in 70cl bottles at 46.2% Vol. TASTING NOTES: COLOUR - Burnished Copper, It does say Natural Colour, Not sure if its been chill filtered, I suspect so as Glendronach appear to have taken to this (In my opinion!!!) pointless cosmetic, flavour and integrity reducing process to appease uninformed markets. (Just Saying.......lol) NOSE - Late summer berries (Blackberries, Plums, Rose hips) and chocolate dulce de leche imbued with sweet demerara and apricot glaze, the apricot really does standout. There is the sulphurous note from a young sherried whisky. TASTE - Sweet, with blackberry and roasted apple crumble with freshly baked gingerbread and sweet damson plum. Gentle development with great build to the finish. FINISH - Black cherry cake, liquorice and acacia honey, a medium length of finish which definitely leaves you wanting more. Conclusion - For the money I don't think you can go far wrong in the current market. Again a solid whisky from Glendronach. Typically these days it's NAS, given the noise I don't think it has that much age about it, but the colour suggests some really active casks. I opened this last night and had a couple of drams and am looking to see how it settles to the air over the next couple of week's and I suspect it will be quite wonderful. So much so I have ordered a replacement for my stash.
About this bottle
This release is one of the first three in The Glendronach's Master's Anthology series that highlights the character of different types of sherry cask maturation. Ode to the Valley is a non-age statement single malt that is matured in a combination of ruby port casks from the Douro Valley in Portugal and Spanish sherry casks. It is bottled at 46.2% ABV. Available in the US beginning May 2025. (SRP $84.50)
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 5 parsed reviews.
I am a huge Glendronach fan, but this one is Port-forward and way too sweet. It is very fruity but i dont get any notes influenced by the Sherry casks.
dátiles, mamey, oporto nose. Wine,pepper, fruity, long taste, orange. Nice retro taste. Delightfull!
Good combo of port plus sherry. Smooth. Good nose.
Very nice. Sweet treat
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
Garavogue 20 Year Single Malt
Singleton of Glen Ord 15 Year The Enchantress of the Ruby Solstice (2022 Special Release)
