One of the most popular sherried single malt whiskies on the market, The Glendronach Original 12 Year Old is the youngest age statement core range expression from The Glendronach brand. A multi-award-winning release, The Glendronach 12 Year Old is an approachable entry-level whisky that has significantly contributed to the brand’s cult reputation.
Exploring the origins, production, and tasting notes – this ultimate guide provides everything you need to know about The Glendronach Original 12 Year Old.
What Kind Of Whisky Is The Glendronach 12 Year Old?
The Glendronach 12 Year Old is single malt scotch whisky, known for its heavily sherried rich style, originating from Scotland’s Highland whisky region. Matured in a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez ex-Sherry casks sourced from Spain, The Glendronach 12 Year Old is bottled at 43% ABV.
Introduced in 2009, the 12 Year Old is the entry-level expression in the brand’s core range launched by Billy Walker, following a takeover of the distillery by The BenRiach Distillery Company. Allegedly, Walker wanted to revive age statements originally used by William Teacher & Sons in the 1960s. However, it quickly became an open secret that the age statement bottlings contained considerably older stocks – the peak for Glendronach 12 Year Old was in 2013, when consumers were actually enjoying an 18 year old whisky.
Trending Stories
Renowned for being approachable, affordable, and complex for its age, the 12 year old has introduced many consumers to the heavily sherried whisky style and The Glendronach’s core range, establishing the brand’s cult reputation.
A multi-award-winning release, The Glendronach 12 Year Old’s accolades include gold medals from the International Wine & Spirit Competition (2017, 2019) and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2022).
Where Is The Glendronach 12 Year Old Produced?
The Glendronach Distillery is situated near Forgue By Huntly, Aberdeenshire in Scotland’s Highland whisky region. The distillery was founded by James Allardice in 1826, but the fledgling distillery was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1837.
Signup now to make sure you don't miss out on the latest whiskey news and deals.
By Signing up, you accept and agree to our Terms of Services and you acknowledge our Privacy Statement. The Whiskey Wash is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
After Allardice was forced into bankruptcy in 1842, The Glendronach passed between several owners including the distilling and blending company William Teacher & Sons in 1960. Subsequently, the whisky became a key component of Teacher’s blends – although The Glendronach had been used as a blending malt for blends including Ballantine’s from the late 1800s.
The Glendronach Distillery was mothballed between 1996 and 2002, before being acquired by French beverage company Pernod Ricard, which oversaw the modernization and conversion of The Glendronach from coal fires to steam-heated stills in 2005. It was the last distillery in Scotland to make the change.
In 2008, the distillery was purchased by The BenRiach Distillery Company, a venture by Master Distiller Billy Walker, and business investors beginning a renaissance at The Glendronach Distillery.
In 2009, Walker launched a Glendronach core range of bold, heavily sherried whiskies bottled from maturing stocks, with age statements of 12, 15, and 18 years old. Following The Glendronach’s revival, ownership of the distillery passed to Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey producer, Brown-Forman following the acquisition of The BenRiach Distillery Company for £285 million in 2016.
The Glendronach produces an old-style whisky using traditional techniques perfected over 200 years, including a rake and plow mash tun and Oregon pine wooden washbacks. An oddly shaped wash still, and the plain sides of the spirit still, reduce the reflux ensuring The Glendronach produces a bold weighty malt, which is typically matured in ex-Sherry casks – the distillery’s signature whisky style.
Is The 12 Year Old Chill-Filtered?
Neither Brown-Forman nor The Glendronach Distillery has directly stated that the brand is chill-filtered, although the wording ‘Non-Chill Filtered’ was removed from the packaging of the core range in 2021. Chill-filtration is a method of filtering whisky to remove residue and cloudiness. The spirit is chilled to between -10 and 4 degrees Celsius, before passing through an absorption filter which removes fatty acids and proteins.
In 2021, the removal of the wording ‘Non-Chill-Filtered’ from the packaging of The Glendonach’s core range, including the 12 Year Old expression, provoked outrage and condemnation from The Glendronach’s purist fans. They feared this would herald the loss of age statements and a lower ABV. This led The Glendronach to release a statement responding, “We have removed Non-Chill-Filtered from our packaging to provide the flexibility in our processes to optimise consistently exceptional quality, flavour, clarity, and stability.”
Reading between the lines, this implies distillery owner Brown-Forman is leaving options open regarding chill-filtration, while many Glendronach enthusiasts suspect the practice will be employed to increase the whisky’s appeal to the mass market.
Despite this, in May 2022, Hamish Fraser writing for Dramface reported that Brown-Forman removed the wording as the company felt The Glendronach was not complying with the guidelines of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) regarding chill-filtration.
Following the outcry concerning chill-filtration, it may be hoped that Brown-Forman will be open regarding possible future brand changes, although no one should judge GlenDronach without tasting the whisky. The Glendronach 12 Year Old continues to be one of the most popular selling expressions amongst sherry cask style whiskies – regardless of factors including stock and batch variation, cask quality, or possible chill-filtration.
What Does The Glendronach 12 Year Old Taste Like?
The Glendronach 12 Year Old is a richly sherried single malt, resulting in a sweet, creamy dram with notes of dried fruit and spice. The expressions’ official tasting notes from the brand’s website can be found below:
Appearance: Deep amber-red gold.
Nose: Sweet, creamy vanilla, with hints of ginger. Spiced mulled wine and pear.
Palate: Rich, creamy silky-smooth. Warm, rich oak and sherry sweetness, full mouth feel, raisins, and soft fruits. Spicy with medium-length and a dry finish.
Finish: Long, full and firm, slightly nutty.
You can also check out our very own Phil Dwyer’s review here.
How Much Does It Cost?
The average price for a 750ml bottle of The Glendronach 12 Year Old is currently $69 on Wine-Searcher.
Currently, the best place in the US to find the Glendronach 12 Year Old is El Cerrito Liquor in Corona, California for $47.95. If you’re based in California, the whisky can also be found for $47.99 at Total Wine & More, Sacramento, and Remedy Liquor, Glendale, LA. While in New Jersey, the best place to purchase The Glendronach 12 Year Old is Wine Anthology, Clark for $58.99.
Latest News