Glendronach Oloroso Sherry Butt 33 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700ml

The GlenDronach Oloroso Sherry Butt 33 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a 33-year-old Highland single malt bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV) in a 700ml format, drawn from Spanish Oloroso sherry wood at The GlenDronach Distillery in Forgue, Aberdeenshire. An official distillery bottling from GlenDronach's archive of past releases, it represents more than three decades of slow maturation in the finest Oloroso casks, the style upon which this 1826-founded Highland house staked its name.

Whisky of this age is a survivor. The spirit in this bottling was laid down generations ago, decades before the distillery's 2016 acquisition by Brown-Forman, and slumbered through changing ownerships while the Oloroso butts worked their slow transformation. Maturation of this length was uncommon even when the whisky was filled to cask, and it is rarer still today. The distillery lists the 33 year old among its archive releases and notes that it is regarded by many as one of its greatest bottlings, presented at 40% ABV, non chill filtered and at natural color.

The official tasting notes read like a dessert menu. The color is rich mahogany with a distinctive tawny heart, viscous and syrupy in the glass. The nose is pronounced and sweet, huge and aromatic, combining stewed fruits, nuts and chocolate fondant. The palate displays real elegance: a myriad of spiced fruits drizzled in bitter chocolate sauce, followed by a second wave of walnut cake and mocha, rich and unctuous to the core; the distillery itself calls it an alcoholic liquid dessert.

The whisky's reputation precedes it: it scored 88/100 at the 2008 Malt Maniacs Awards, and Jim Murray described it as a 'golden nugget of a dram.' Long since bottled and never to be repeated, this is old-stock GlenDronach in the fullest sense, a 33-year Oloroso-matured Highland malt from an era of production that no longer exists. Individual bottling details for this retired release appear on each label, and for collectors of aged sherried Scotch, few bottles carry comparable weight.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: 80 Proof (40% ABV)
• Age: 33 Years
• Origin: Highlands, Scotland
• Distillery: The GlenDronach Distillery, Forgue, Aberdeenshire
• Whisky Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Cask Type: Spanish Oloroso Sherry Butts
• Series: Archive Release
• Tasting Notes: Stewed fruits, chocolate fondant, spiced fruit, walnut cake, mocha