A totally different Glendronach... | Glendronach Traditionally Peated REVIEW

I've got a single malt scotch whisky from the Glendronach distillery in the highlands today. This is one of their less-celebrated offerings, and it's the only peated whisky in their lineup. I'll taste it and give you my thoughts. Cheers!
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Scores:
0-75 - Crap
75-79 - For cocktails & people you don't like
80-82 - Not bad
83-85 - Getting good here
86-89 - Delicious
90-94 - Awesome
95-100 - Cowabunga Dudes

[@GeoffreyBangers]

Thank you for your culturally peat-sensitive review, Geoff. You handled the regional peat discussion with the grace and dignity we've all grown accustomed to. That's why you're among KZbin's most trusted whisky news anchors. As I've said many times, peat isn't the beat I roll to on the street. So if it's peated, it's gotta be something pretty special. That's how I keep it REAL. Based on what you've said, I won't be seeking this one out. I did really enjoy Benromach 15yr when I had it recently, so that's something. Anyway, great review! Cheers!

[@peatbull3426]

You have 101% Right! This is the point. its too many "peated" expressions on the market base on Hype for peated whisky i guess. Most of them are just lightly peated and peat is from Highlands( there is a few good one i like) not from Islay and most of them are mediocre. Best exaple is Benrach smoky 12. It have nice nose but thats it. I hardly passed 1/3 of my bottle and use the rest in my Infinity bottle. Cheers 👍🥂🙋🏻‍♂️

[@McIntyresMalts]

It's an easy sipper, wouldn't chase it, but also wouldn't turn down a dram of it and I enjoy it. It'a about 100 in AUD so not bad at all

[@nickashton3049]

Yeah review some more mainland peated whiskies, I think viewers will appreciate the change. Ledaig & Talisker are the only non Islay peated whiskies that I've tried, & any new sources of peat will be good to know about.

[@lesterlau]

I'm still in my sherry phase, so Glendronach is still a brand that I'm enjoying quite a bit. The Glendronach 18 I've got is among my favorites on my shelf, although I would have loved to try one from the Billy Walker era. Haven't tried this peated version yet, but thanks for another detailed and fair review!

[@Gwhisky]

I'll have to bring you a sample of the Billy Walker 18 next time we meet. Remind me! 😉🥃

[@martindouwe6099]

It's one of the cheapest GD on the market, so be happy it is available, and this is for sale since 2019 not 2015. That was another release called PEATED.

[@Gwhisky]

Right about the 2019 release.

[@BIGM-gg9ln]

Opened one up yesterday. Very nice.

[@Gwhisky]

Awesome. Glad you're enjoying! 🥃

[@Koby616]

Thanks for video

[@Gwhisky]

Hah cheers. Thanks for watching. 🙏

[@nickparilac372]

Glendronach Peated Portwood, was an amazing dram, wish I could find more

[@hamo4558]

Great review Jeff, I found myself agreeing with everything you said about this one. I was pretty happy to see this one make way for something else in my bar. I never really connected with it, although I will say that when the bottle was more than half empty/full, after about 3-4 years, I felt it got better. It is quality made, but I wont be replacing it.

[@Gwhisky]

Great minds, eh? 🥃

[@jonathanso86]

I had 2 bottles of this. The first was when I was relatively new on my whisky journey and I loved it. The 2nd bottle was recent and it somewhat disappointed. For the same range, I highly recommend the bunna toiteach

[@peatbull3426]

You just confirmed Goeff what i already knew. Maybe the problem with this bottle of Glendrochach is that been Traditionally peated?! If they use Untraditional way of peated whisky could be better? Who knows 😅😎 Cheers and Slàinte with good traditionally peated expressions this year 🤞🥂🙋🏻‍♂️

[@sandrofazzolari8833]

Peanut 🥜 butter flavoured attack helicopters 🚁 😂😂😂Geoff you are getting better and better! Thanks and kind regards as always, S.

[@Gwhisky]

Hah cheers my friend.

[@jackthepickledhound]

Highland peat sometimes works well. I have the 2015 46% withiut the port. Kinda crazy to be talking about it in 2024 but why not? I haven't opened it because i thought it was going to be more collectible than enjoyable as it was already 6 or seven years in the bottle with Billy Walker's signature and stated NCF and Natural color on the tube. Loving the Glen Turret 10 and the GlenGlassough Torfa. Let's not forget the Longrow is not island peat either. I'm not really an Islay purist. I really think that an Ancnoc or an Ardmore could easily be mistaken for a Kilchoman or Caol Ila, I'd even wager on the 55% peated Paul John to be islay worthy. The GD 15 is hovering at $100+ and the NAS Portwood is over $90 so I don't see me going near those very distinctive GD tubes anytime soon.

[@ryand7764]

I tried this at the distillery along with the 18 and 21. I preferred the 18 to the 21, but when taking into consideration thatthe Peated was 1/4 the price, I opted for the Peated. I've never seen it in my area of the US, but it was only 50 pounds in Scotland.

[@JarekZoglowek]

I have the version from 2016. The it was 46% abv. And there was info about natural color And non-chil filtration. I like this bottle. Quite earthy😋

[@Gwhisky]

Glad you enjoy it! Yeah I made a mistake the new bottle was a 2019 rerelease. Cheers. 🥃

[@lightplays2181]

Glendronach ....always good whisky )))) Geoff i think Santa brought you good gift , 25 yo whisky )))) Mate i wish you success .Gaumarjos !

[@Gwhisky]

Thanks as always, my friend. Gaumarjos! 🥃

[@lightplays2181]

@@Gwhisky Cheers !

[@piotrledochowski5824]

I had the same feeling about islay peat but since I tried ledaig and kilkerran heavily peated there is a very special room in my heart for them.

[@djgenetic111]

The malt for Ledaig comes from Islay 😉

[@piotrledochowski5824]

@@djgenetic111 agree but it has different character for me its very salty

[@djgenetic111]

@@piotrledochowski5824 I got a bit too optimistic with the Ledaig 10, because I am not the greatest peat friend. But I tried the Port Charlotte 10, and I really liked it. The Ledaig to me has a Laphroaig nose, the peat is very prominent and very smoky. I do not think it is well integrated. However, the PC has a nice earthy peat (funnily from Inverness, I guess they want to separate themselves from the typical Islay flavor), which is a part of the flavors, but it is not dominant. I also find the Talisker 10 much better than the Ledaig 10.

[@mk.5706]

Even though i agree with you more or less about most whiskys, this time we are poles apart and that without doing any different observation. It is a relatively simple whisky without too much complexity, true, so it may be a guilty pleasure of mine, something like increasing the volume in your car when smokie starts living next door to alice or something - okay, maybe not that cheeky, whatever - for me the simple mix of that sweet, earthy mainland peat, loads of sherry, the silkiness of glendronach and the very well matching 48% abv works so well, it´s the perfect dram for me when i don´t want to think about it and just have a nice glas of whisky that doesn´t disturb by whatever i do in the evening at home. Did i observe anything different? Not really, didn´t i? That is exactly what makes life bearable. Your mate saying, look at her and you reply, really?? Imagine how stressful anything else would be, so i´ll happily drink all that glendronach traditionally peated for you. thanks for the nice reviews once more. slainte!

[@Gwhisky]

Yeah seems we're tasting exactly the same whisky (in terms of notes and descriptors) but walking away with totally different reactions. Hah! Glad to hear you enjoy this one! 🥃

[@thegoatchild3545]

Thanks for reviewing this and confirming my suspicions, Geoff. This is about €65 here, which seems absolutely excessive. I wish there were more non-Islay peaty options. Suggestion: Have you explored blended malts? There are some great ones out there, Smokey Joe for example. Loving the channel, keep up the good work!🥃

[@Gwhisky]

Thanks for the kind words. I absolutely agree, €65 is too much for this. I do occasionally review blends, although I don't think I've had the Smoky Joe release. I'll have to keep an eye out for that one. Thanks for watching! 🥃

[@thegoatchild3545]

@@Gwhisky Another great one is Douglas Laing’s Rock Island, highly recommended. There’s a really nice saltiness to that one.🥃

[@MARYN0077]

Thank you Geoff, nice review, ..... I had this bottle 3 years ago, i was struggling to get through it for 2 years, it's horrible, I wouldn't buy it again

[@superodfx]

V.passionate Geoff , a small rant, I had to double check that you hadn’t shapeshifted into Rob from whisky n the 6 lol Thanks for the review!

[@Gwhisky]

😂😂😂

[@kevinnordby4808]

Great review Geoff! I always enjoy your videos. I might be starting a fight here, but…….Port Charlotte is mainland peated barley.

[@Gwhisky]

Hah you're not starting a fight. I'm aware. 🥃

[@Balkonwhisky]

Hello Geoff, i had different peated Glendronachs over the Years Billy Walker was there and (really) short Time after😅. I really loved the "peated Portwood" and liked the "Peated" which was the previous Version of your "traditionally Peated" about 5 Years ago. The peated Portwood was very smooth and not Peat-dominant with a delicious Strawberry-Marmelade Note on Top. It brought my Girl to the "Peaty Side of Malt" 😜 I you like peated Glenturrets you should try an IB of „Ruadh M(a)or“ which is/was their heavily Peated Expression and always good. Thanks for sharing your Thoughts and Opinion about this Expression of Glendronach. Greetings from Germany 😎🤘

[@WhiskyWolf514]

.aaaaand the signature move of the "finish" is back !😁👌🔥 Nice! Yeah Glendronach....love and hate these days. I may still look out for 2019> bottlings but not what they produce nowadays... Like you said, there are just so many better and competitive alternatives out there that it's hard have a pure love for Glendronach. Having said that, 18 Allardice is like a good nostalgic memory of an ex lover from 10 years ago, you remember what you loved about it, get nostalgic about the time and enjoy the memory of that , but nothing more, nothing less. Thanks Geoff for the review! Cheers my friend!🥃🥃

[@Gwhisky]

Quite a succinct and poetic description! Hah. Yeah the old 18s are definitely nostalgic. I've got a BW18 on the go. Good stuff but it's not "the best 18 ever" as some ppl claim. Does bring you back to the good ol' days of Glendronach, though. Cheers buddy! 🥃

[@WhiskyWolf514]

@@Gwhisky Fair enough. I got one BW 18 as well stashed away for a special occasion, but how my taste is changing these days I can see it not being the end all be all. I am actually excited to try the Longmorn 18 you suggested at some point (💰😅) Cheers 🥃🥃

[@peathead4450]

Thanks for reviewing Geoff. GlenDronach .... been a while I've had it. And haven't had this peated one either. I agree (...er .... 🤔...for once?) with you on the sherry bombs and on the preference for Islay peat over highland peat. Slàinte mhath

[@Gwhisky]

You what? You agree? I'm going to take a screenshot of this comment, print it out, then frame it and hang it on my wall.😉🥃

[@peathead4450]

@@Gwhisky #NewYearsResolutionCompletedNowBackToNormal 🤣

[@thewhiskyenthusiast]

I tried this one and the 'peated' one where there's no port cask influence. If memory serves the regular peated one was better than the traditional peated one but again not a revelation. Bad whisky? No Buy again? No Cheers? Yes 🥃

[@gordonhall9943]

Thank you for the review. Skipping this. :)

[@krisforsline6050]

You missed a much better comparison here. Should have compared with Balvenie Peat Week. Better similarity of a distillery with large followings for non-peated scotch offering a small percentage of their bottles in a peat version for fans of both the distillery and peat. Would have liked to hear your thoughts in that mindset - coming at a whiskey in peat version of same underlying base flavors.

[@petterstromfelt4640]

When are you going to try a Swedish Whisky?

[@mikenorthrip3604]

Hey Geoff, looks like you've been using a new tasting glass for the last couple weeks! Care to share?

[@Gwhisky]

Sure thing! That one's called the "bourbon glass" by Cosi Tabellini. Cheers! 🥃

[@McGururu]

Are you eager to try Meikle Toir? Glenallachie's peated line???

[@Gwhisky]

Yes, I hear they're quite interesting. Sadly not sold here yet. 🥃

[@McGururu]

its just about to launch in Australia so possibly where you are too..soon@@Gwhisky

[@McGururu]

aaahhh a Glendronach

[@Brad-ic4bp]

I’m a huge Glendronach fan, but not a big peat fan (I keep a bottle of Port Charlotte 10 for those rare cravings). BUT, I refuse to buy any scotch that doesn’t explicitly state No Added Color. I never thought that was a problem with Glendronach, but it sounds like they’ve gone down a path of deceptive practices here. Sad to hear that - as a whiskey fan and as a Brown Forman shareholder.

[@vimalrajkappil]

I haven't tried it because I haven't heard very good things about this expression.

[@trapperkcmo3460]

where is billy walker????

[@peatbull3426]

walked away 🤷‍♂️....😎👍🥂🙋🏻‍♂️

[@trapperkcmo3460]

@@peatbull3426 his bottles last half as long or less in my rotation damn you, billy walker!!!!! that shit is tasty!!!!!

[@jaypritchett17]

maybe if you can get Ancnoc 24? lots of reviews have been jumping on that bandwagon. ALSO! im really on the edge of buying a Bunnahabhain Moine Bordeaux feis ile. everyone is saying its amazing... and i do love bunnahabhain. but i dont know how that peated bunnahabhain would taste. you think i should buy it? i dont have swedish friends, so im racist.

[@Gwhisky]

Yeah AnCnoc 24 would be a fun review. I have one in the "vault," but I'd like to find a newer one for the sake of a review, as Rob from Whisky in the 6 says they've changed. As for the Bunna Moine... buy it! Some of the best peated whisky I've ever had was from Bunna. 🥃

[@TheReal_DeanD]

Yes. I didn't vibe with this one. Geoff nails it once again in the review. I got 3/4 through and gave it to a friend who does tastings. I really thought I was going to get something complex for the $85 USD I paid.

[@xxacidmv]

.

[@MY-bd3fo]

Too expensive for what it is. I stop buying Glendronach these days. The quality just dropped too much. Still have a discontinued 1 litre bottle of Glendronach 12 which I just opened, NCF and natural colour. taste older than the age stated.

[@fredjupiter7852]

It’s not working well. Bought a bottle in 2019, it was a really nice one. Bought a Version in 2021 again. Other Batch with really worse flavour.

[@Rbs6]

You are getting old not to like sherry bottles😅

[@lanjagg]

Man Glenturret-bought my first bottle recently. What is with that wet, mossy nose? Almost smells like a fault. Reminds me of “corked” wine.

[@heartbroken522]

highland peat sucks😂