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 Glendronach Ode To The Valley is a celebration of its Aberdeenshire home – Glendronach translates as ‘the valley of the brambles’ from local Gaelic. The whisky has been matured in a combination of ex-sherry and ex-Ruby Port casks.
Ode To The Valley is joined by two other expressions in The Master’s Anthology. Ode To The Embers is a rare peated expression of Glendronach. It has been matured in ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The whisky is made using malted barley dried with local Highland peat. Ode To The Dark is the richest whisky of the trio. It has been matured solely in ex-Pedro Ximenez 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 in the villagie of Forgue, 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.
Ode To The Valley sings of an abundance of ripe fruit, it is the landscape of the Glendronach distillery in full glory.
Dr. Rachel Barrie.
The Glendronach Ode To The Valley is bottled at 46.2% ABV. The Master’s Anthology was launched in December 2025 and is available now in Germany and the UK. It will get a wider world release during 2025. A bottle will cost £67/ €80.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is deep coppery amber and the nose is deep, sweet and rich. Fruity aromas of raisin, brandy soaked prunes and over ripe blackberry rise first. these are joined by dark chocolate, almond marzipan and an underlying mushroom-like earthiness. There are also hints of waxy honeycomb, toasted walnuts, dried hay and sweet demerara sugar.
On the palate this whisky feels rich, deep and viscous. Notes of bittersweet cinnamon bark spice, dark chocolate and caramel lead the way. Then comes a distinct fruitiness in the form of red cranberry sauce, chocolate coated raisins and those brandy soaked prunes from the nose.
A hint of bitter orange marmalade is also detected. A pinch of white pepper accentuate these fruity characteristics. Further notes of sugared almond are also evident, as are hints of apricot jam and toasted walnut. Later hints of clove oil and freshly grated nutmeg add even more depth and complexity.
The finish is bittersweet. A distinct oaky vibe and cocoa powder give the dryness, along with some dried walnut skin. The apricot jam element and sugary raisins give sweetness and pulls the finish out. It starts fresher then gets more confected, before the dryness and wood spices kick in.
What’s The Verdict?
This is an impressive whisky from Glendronach and one that fans of sherried single malts will really enjoy. The Ruby Port casks have also added an extra dimension to the flavour profile. It exhibits a lovely sweet, dry, fruity and nutty balance, albeit with a late peppery kick. The alcohol is superbly intergrated and the whisky drinks well at this strength.
The entire series of The Master’s Anthology is also well priced. You get a lot of whisky for your money here. It feels like the ownership have listened to recent criticism of their pricing of Glendronach and acted accordingly. The Ode To The Valley is delicious.
