12/07/2023 Flanders Day

Celebrating Flanders Day like a Walloon. Late. (It was yesterday)

Hi-dilly-oh, neighbor!

The GlenDronach 19yo 1995/2014 (54.2%, OB Single Cask selected by La Maison du Whisky for whisky.fr, Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#1563, 640b): nose: it is a 'dronach as most aficionados love them, one overflowing with chocolate and musty, earthy, Sherry aromas. Potting soil, prunes, pan-fried-mushroom water (or rehydrated-shiitake water), roasted cocoa beans... Heck! it even has oyster sauce. That does not make it maritime in the slightest, though: it is very much an earthy number, albeit an appealing one -- provided one likes chocolate (and who does not!?) Ten minutes of breathing steer all that towards drinks cabinets and polished teak furniture, tobacco leaves and unlit cigars, liqueur-soaked raisins and a jelly made of unidentified berries (blackcurrants? Blackberries? Mind you, it may be rose-petal jelly slathered on softly-smoked rosehip). A faint whiff of lichen-y rancio adds a late depth. The second nose seems drier. It brings leather and cured-ham rind coated in earth so dry it could be desert dirt. Happily for me, it does not stray into coffee-grounds territory. Mouth: rich and wine-y, the attack is not as chocolate-y, which is a bit of a departure from the nose. Nail varnish, wine sauce, gravy, green-lentil cooking water, mushrooms (penny buns), all splashed with a generous serving of Palo Cortado Sherry. We have prunes too, dried dates, a pinch of discreet potting soil, and boiled purple potatoes. The second sip is drier and bitterer, earthier, perhaps, which increases the impression of green-lentil cooking water. It also sees distant pebbles, covered in moss. That somehow makes the whole palate seem warmer. Finally, cocoa powder returns to the scene, borderline desiccating. Finish: yes, big and sherried, without a doubt, it delivers nail varnish and dried fruits on a heated metal plate. Dates, dried and earthy, prunes, currants so dry they retain hardly any sweetness, and some tame spices. It falls somewhere between amchur, cloves, and black cardamom, in terms of lasting flavour, which is a sweet spot, in truth. The second sip comes dangerously (for me) close to mocha, yet it could simply be ground cocoa beans that were roasted a little too heavily. Let us settle for for chococino, which is rather fitting, as I discovered that while working in Flanders, ahem, many moons ago. This is not my favoured profile, but it is well pleasant. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, elskling)