Glendronach Turns to Ex-Port Wine Barrels for New Whisky

The Glendronach distillery in Scotland, as we noted after our recent visit, is known as being squarely focused on sherry casks when it comes to the barrel type it uses for aging its whisky. It isn’t necessarily married fully to that, however, with a new release just coming to market that saw final aging in ex-port wine barrels.

The new Glendronach Peated Port Wood, according to those behind it, is a rather fascinating non-age statement expression for two reasons. Firstly, you have the Scotch going through final maturation in port pipes from the Douro Valley in Portugal. On top of this, the whisky is said to be made in the “old style,” meaning from malted barley dried with Highland peat.

“The GlenDronach Peated Port Wood may be considered a surprising expression from this distillery but in keeping with historical styles,” said GlenDronach Whisky Maker, Rachel Barrie, in a prepared statement. “Peat imbues the spirit with regional notes of wood smoke and smouldering charcoal, layered over The GlenDronach’s archetypal fruitiness.”

This whisky is bottled at 46% ABV, non chill filtered and of natural color. Plans call for it to be a seasonal release, pricing around £70, or about $95 USD. You’ll find official tasting notes for it below for your consideration.

Appearance: Dark amber with a ruby heart.

 Nose: Wild strawberries dusted with cinnamon sugar, lled with sweet wood smoke. A warming hint of black pepper and a sprig of mint appear in the back note.

 Palate: Crisp, tart cranberry juice, ooded with waves of Highland smoke, sweetens to red berry compote, with rich, stewed barley and lingering, smouldering charcoal.