This whisky forms part of The Master’s Anthology, a new trio of single malts from the Highland distillery of Glendronach. The series is designed to showcase the distillery’s use of premium ex-sherry casks, sourced from southern Spain. It has been created by Dr. Rachel Barrie – the award-winning Master Blender for Glendronach.
The Ode To The Embers is a rare peated expression of Glendronach. It has been matured in a combination ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. The whisky is made using malted barley dried with local Highland peat sourced from Aberdeenshire.
Ode To The Embers is joined by two other expressions in The Master’s Anthology. Ode To The Valley is a celebration of the distillery’s Aberdeenshire home. It is matured in ex-sherry and ex-Ruby Port casks. Ode To The Dark is the richest whisky of the trio. It has been matured solely in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. All three bottlings are non-chill filtered and of natural colour.
The Glendronach distillery was founded in 1826 by James Allardice and is located in rural Aberdeenshire. It is close to the town of Huntly. The majority of the present buildings date from 1850 when the distillery was rebuilt following a devastating fire. It was the last single malt distillery in Scotland to use stills directly fired by coal. This practice only ceased in 2005.
The distillery is known for its use of high quality ex-sherry casks. It is currently owned by Brown-Forman, who took control in 2016. The annual production is two million litres, although a major expansion is ongoing. Glendronach translates as ‘the valley of the brambles’ from local Gaelic.
Ode To The Embers cloaks warm and rich spice in smouldering wisps of smoke, speaking of the days of old at the Glendronach distillery.
Dr. Rachel Barrie.
The Glendronach Ode To The Embers is bottled at 48.4% ABV. The Master’s Anthology was launched in December 2024 and is available now in Germany and the UK. It will get a wider world release during 2025. A bottle will cost £72/ €87.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is deep amber and the nose is an intriguing mix between sweet and savoury. An immediate aroma of florentine biscuits rises first – think of almond, caramel and chocolate with hint of orange, all in combination. Then comes apricot jam, red toffee apple and a hint of soft, sweet bonfire smoke that lingers in the background.
On the palate this whisky is full on and rich, with a similar sweet vs. savoury vibe as the nose. It is packed with big, punchy flavours but maintains a lighter body and mouth feel. Up front there is plenty of sweetness, which is then followed by a delicious deep set of umami notes. Notes of caramel and toffee, raisin and sultana, plus crisp red apple and a hint of heather honey lead the way.
Then comes some cocoa powder and sweet confected orange sherbet. This, combined with some building spicy heat, give a zingy and peppery edge. Further notes of malted chocolate biscuits sit underneath and the smoke is more noticable and prominent. This soft, sweet and gentle smoke wraps itself around all the other elements and gives a drying quality alongside some lovely wood tannins towards the end.
The finish is of good length and sees the smoke really come through well. This is now at its most prominent and influential. It makes the finish dry and spicy with some delicious peppery characteristics coming through, especially when the sweet and fruity notes has gone.
What’s The Verdict?
This entry into The Master’s Anthology arguably pushes the Glendronach spirit is the most different direction of the three whiskies. The peat smoke is soft, sweet and gentle, and very different to the much bolder and medicinal Islay smoke. This is definitely not a big peaty whisky or a sherry bomb, but shows what can be achieved when the two elements are skillfully married together. We also think that this is a significantly better whisky than the old Glendronach Peated. Utterly delicious, and a great example of the Highland peat style.
