MrWizard's Ramblings

Starward Capsule Thoughts:
Another tasting today, this time with Australia’s Starward Distillery. I believe I’ve covered Starward Nova earlier here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200912-201749 but there were also Two Fold and Solera samples to try. Nova and Two Fold are fully aged in red wine barrels and Solera aged in Apera (Australian Sherry) casks. Overall, their offerings are delicious, very cask type-forward and quite sweet, which I like personally. They are almost dessert-like whiskeys. My personal preference going to Solera as its got that nutty sherry profile which I like. The only minor downside is that I wish there were bottled at somewhat higher abv but at the price vs taste its really hard to complain about. All the whiskeys from this distillery I’ve tried so far have been delicious, though uncomplicated compared to older scotch. They would make fantastic @work treats or starter bottles for those that like sweeter malt. There’s a lot of value in Starward bottles as stocking stuffers or a great bottle to take to the party as just about any of them are super enjoyable and more than drinkable even for those that aren’t used to malt whiskeys. I’m told they also work quite well in highballs cocktails, due to higher sweetness and wine influence. I’m also red wine barrel-biased as I enjoy that profile combination with single malt. Personally, I’m unlikely to stock any bottles but it doesn’t stop me from recommending it.
Score: Nova B-
Score: Solera B
Score: Two Fold B-
Overall Grade: B
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GlenDronach Tasting
Quick reviews on lineup and then overall thoughts afterwards.

GlenDronach 12
Previously covered here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry190105-080208, this is solid, everyday, somewhat uncomplicated, yet satisfying drink.
Score: B-

GlenDronach 15 Revival
This has a story for sure, not too much of a secret but around 2010s GlenDronach was running out of 15 year old barrels, so someone at the distillery insisted on bottling much older stocks instead of discontinuing or pausing label production. So if one were to find an older bottling by chance (it will state that it’s “Exclusively Matured in finest Oloroso Sherry Casks” vs current is “Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso”) it can contain up to 21 years old whiskey inside. Although history is great, let’s get back to the current sample. The nose is sweet sherry while the palate is all leather, tobacco, sweet sherry and toasted nuts overlay. Deep and well balanced flavor that leans to the sweeter side, with some nice complexities that are starting to come through and shine well. Still slightly muddled individual notes but the greatness is starting to be visible palatable. Great mid-range price and fantastic flavor profile typical to the distillery bottlings makes this a must try and highly versatile crowd pleaser even for a discerning audience.
Feel free to read better-written brief history/review here: https://whiskyreview … ndronach-15-revival/
Score: B (A if from ~2015)

GlenDronach 18 Allardice
Notably darker than the 12 or 15, the 18 is a departure from the ‘norm’ in some ways. It’s still obvious to see its a sherry bomb, but the nose is a lot dryer than 15 and there’s more leather coming through that’s not overwhelmed by sherry sweetness. Big and bold flavors on display yet again, as is the case with all the samples from GlenDronach, though with 18 I feel it suffers somewhat from too much wood or perhaps different balance. Whatever it may be, it feels oddly unbalanced and leans towards sweet wood/leather and isn’t what 18 year old ‘flagship’ should represent. Surprising to myself I’m finding it hard to recommend for others to buy a bottle. Certainly try it at the bar as its got that bold big flavor that’s easy on the palate, but even then you may be better served by having a 15 at roughly half the price. It is growing on me with time and repeated tasting from the glass, but it does occupy that weird niche between excellent 15 that’s much cheaper, and a 21 that’s not excessively more expensive, without having something outstanding about itself other than ‘great scotch’. I’d expect decent sherry finished ~20 year old Kirkland from Costco at about $70-$80 to have about same kind of balance and profile.
Score: B (B- for value)

GlenDronach 21 Parliament
This is great stuff. Nose, palate and aftertaste are in perfect harmony. Basically what I wrote for 15 year old above… but ‘better’. All those great notes and the balance are back and are in perfect harmony. Fantastic stuff that’s great for connoisseurs and novices alike… Oddly enough this reminds of older bottlings of 15 year old Revival… Oh wait, it’s likely that’s exactly what I’ve had at the time and I mentioned I’d be happy to be marooned on an uninhabited island with supply of this back in the day. This is great stuff. End of review.
Score: A

GlenDronach ??? (1993 Master’s Vintage)
Assuming you are a fan of sherried unpeated single malt, this sample is amazing, all the praises. Full stop. By all rights, this shouldn’t be in my hands for a zoom tasting. Even more so, it shouldn’t be a sample. This bottling is an exemplar of what defines (sherried, unpeated) single malt scotch and why many many folks are obsessed with older bottles. The sample turned out to be a 25 year old Master’s Vintage, a mix of 17 casks from 1993. This quality level is from a bygone era and is essentially out of reach for regular consumers. Do better options exist? Sure, but easily at twice the price or perhaps in private casks but those don’t show up in retail. This is certainly up there in the top ranked bottles I’ve ever tried in this style.
https://www.whiskyba … 680/glendronach-1993
Score: A+

Final Thoughts
If Macallan essentially paved the way for sherried single malt bottlings, GlenDronach is effectively current reigning king since all their bottles are sherried. Amazing work by amazing brand ambassador Rory Glasgow who went above and beyond on this tasting. One of the first tastings I had over Zoom and definitely one of the greats. The sample kits were amazing. The personal touches were fantastic and the lineup was mind-blowing. Not to mention and quality and the quantity of swag; branded Glencairn Glass helped too :). This tasting has set essentially unreachable bar for any other one so far, even more so that this was actually free.
Overall: Exceptional
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown