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News Archive
08.12.09
Dram Fine Result as 'Adorable' GlenDronach Scoops Two New Awards
The team at GlenDronach are toasting two new awards achieved by our stellar 15 year old “Revival” single malt.
Last week, at the Dutch Whisky Awards 2009, it was voted Best Single Malt Whisky of the year in the Netherlands.
And this week, it also won a top accolade in the prestigious “Malt Maniacs” 2009 Awards.
Our Dutch agent Caecil Gerrits of importers Versailles Dranken Nijmegen explained: “On the awards’ website, visitors of the festival were ask to vote for “The Best Single Malt Whisky” out of a selection of three hundred different whiskies divided into three categories. We received over four thousand votes.
“Some 62% of the votes in the non-peated category went to the GlenDronach 15 yrs old.
“After that, in a blind tasting, the six-person tasting panel chose the four best whiskies in the three categories. Even in this blind taste the GlenDronach 15 yrs was the best.”
The second success for “Revival” was in winning the Malt Maniacs’ “Non Plus Ultra Award 2009” in the Daily Drams category.
The Malt Maniacs, founded 1997 by Johannes van den Heuvel and Serge Valentin, are the most well known of all web-based whisky communities. Their twenty-four members are scattered all around the globe – in Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa – and amongst them are whisky writers Martine Nouet, Dave Broom and Charles MacLean.
The Malt Maniacs’ Awards, sometimes called 'The Formula One Grand Prix of Whisky', have taken place every year since 2003. More than two hundred whiskies are usually preselected and submitted by more than sixty different distillers, bottlers or brands and tasted blind by independent international jurors.
Johannes said: “It was not a huge surprise that the Glendronach 15yo did so well - Serge and I both adored it when we got the chance to sample it earlier and many of the jurors share our love for heavily-sherried whiskies. So many congratulations.”
Earlier, on his Whiskyfun website, Serge Valentin gave"Revival" 92 pointsand commented: "The fact that some distilleries still have such old-style sherried whiskies may well be the best of recent news from the whisky world. An adorable whisky."
The GlenDronach “Revival” is a remarkable full-bodied malt which is matured for a minimum of 15 years in the finest Oloroso sherry casks. Bottled at 46%, the GlenDronach Revival is non chill filtered and of natural colour.
17.11.09
GlenDronach Distillery has all your Christmas Gifts
This Christmas, the solution to your Christmas gift dilemma is dram simple...and on your doorstep!
The GlenDronach Distillery Gift Shop is open 7 days between now and Christmas.
So pop in and let our friendly team help you re-discover the full range of our superlative, warming,richly-sherried malts – the perfect Christmas gift for Mums, Dads, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters...Everyone!
And our new pack of three GlenDronach miniatures makes a superb stocking-filler.
But not only that. We’ve got Tshirts, scarves, hats, umbrellas, drinking glasses and much more....and there’s 10% off all giftware between now and Christmas.
In addition, the Distillery Tour is available every day and everyone gets a wee warming dram at the end.
Gift Shop opening hours:
Monday - Saturday: 10am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 12noon - 4.30pm
14.01.09
Sante! Rare GlenDronach & BenRiach Malts Set to Be a Highlight of Whisky Live Paris
A number of fine and rare BenRiach and GlenDronach malts are set to be one of the highlights of Whisky Live Paris this month.
French whisky lovers are looking forward to sampling some of the vintage expressions which have been maturing in GlenDronach’s Aberdeenshire distillery over the last forty years.
Whisky Live provides the ultimate whisky experience and continues to be one of the leading consumer and trade-based whisky shows globally.
France has long been regarded as the leading Scotch Whisky market worldwide and it is essential that we have our brands on display on this key date in the annual calendar of events.
Although the majority of whisky sold in France is blended whisky, single malt Scotch Whisky is fast becoming a fashionable beverage within the young to middle-aged consumer groups. We hope that both BenRiach and GlenDronach will be well received by all those who visit the stand over the exhibition weekend.
This year’s exhibition has significant interest to us and we will be showcasing the newly-released GlenDronach 15-year-old and 18-year-old expressions together with some fine and rare vintage editions which will appeal to all malt whisky enthusiasts and collectors alike.
Amongst many of the products being presented are:
BenRiach 12yo ‘Sherry Wood’ matured
BenRiach 16yo
Birnie Moss ‘non aged’
GlenDronach 15yo
GlenDronach 18yo
In addition, James we will be sampling some astonishing vintage expressions from 1971, 1972 and 1996.
WhiskyLive Paris takes place at Pavillon Gabriel, 5 avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris, from Saturday 26 - Monday 28 September 2009.
06.09
Latest Competition Winner
We're offering all of our newsletter subscribers the chance to win a bottle of the superb GlenDronach 33yo!
By simply entering your email address into the 'sign up' section on our website, you will be entered into our quarterly prize draw.
Congratulations to Tim Puett who is our latest winner! Tim's email was selected at random at the end of June and his bottle of 33yo is now on its way!
28.08.09
Malts on the March: BenRiach & GlenDronach Expand into China, Vietnam and USA
As part of our planned growth strategy, we're expanding into emerging markets such as China and Vietnam. We are also beefing up our presence in the USA.
In the past, these countries were perceived as being off the radar as target malt whisky markets. However, in recent years the booming economies and the rise in the number of wealthy individuals have helped to make malt whisky a more attainable product.
Additionally, these markets are already hugely popular holiday destinations due to improved air links and the spin-off from the Beijing Olympics.
Due to the sheer size of China – over three and a half million square miles and over 1.3 billion of a population - we intend on focus on a small number of regions rather than try to target the country as a whole. This can act as a springboard to build the brand further in due course.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has also entered a significant period of growth within the tourism sector, and this lends itself well to the introduction of premium malt whisky throughout the relevant outlets that this industry attracts.
Our plan is to conduct a series of organised tastings and corporate events in the months to come which will aid the brands’ introduction. For any new market and particularly emerging markets, it is essential that we are closely in touch with activities on the ground, as has already been successfully proven in some of our other new territories around the world.
Looking at the USA, BenRiach has been available in the US for four years now and we are gradually establishing a name for it through tutored tastings and whisky festivals across the country.
Our US Importer Preiss Imports will be introducing the new GlenDronach range – 12, 15 and 18 year old malts – towards the end of this year.
We believe GlenDronach has excellent potential in the US. We have been inundated with enquiries from US consumers via our website so there clearly remains an awareness for the brand in the States - an awareness that was built up during the past five decades via William Teacher's and Allied Distillers.
23.08.09
£7M Investment as GlenDronach Goes for Global Growth
The journey of re-discovery continues: GlenDronach is set to benefit from a major £7m investment.
It’s part of our strategy to restore the malt to its former glory and accelerate its growth in new markets worldwide.
Forty years ago, GlenDronach was amongst the top five most popular malts in the world. Now a £5m investment in sherry casks over the next four years and a further £2m on brand promotion and extra staff will boost the sleeping giant.
In recent years, GlenDronach has fallen out of view but it has maintained a kind of cult status. This investment returns it to centre-stage.
It’s testament to our ambitions as a small, niche distiller. We are making sure the whisky coming through is of the highest quality and the new sherry casks will be at the heart of maturation, imbuing the whisky with its distinctively sweet, fragrant and fruity taste.
When we bought The GlenDronach Distillery last year, there were less that 20,000 bottles sold worldwide. This year, having added a number of new expressions like the 15 and 18 year-old, GlenDronach will sell around 150,000 bottles. By 2014, the aim is to sell some 250,000 bottles.
We’re pursuing our dream – to sell fine malt whisky all over the world and put GlenDronach back where it belongs.
17.07.09
GlenDronach Releases Single Cask Batch One
We have recently selected five vintages for the first series of single cask bottlings.
In Batch One we have singled out malts from 1971, 1972, 1992, 1993 and 1996 in ages ranging from 38 to 13 years old.
All five are in the traditional GlenDronach style – richly sherried, from Oloroso Sherry Butts - and are being bottled this month.
Dating back to 1826, there have been few if any single cask bottlings from GlenDronach, so the launch of Single Cask Batch One is particularly significant..
We will repeat this exercise each year, hand-selecting a small number of the very best casks from the distillery warehouses to release as Single Cask bottlings.
Each will be bottled at cask strength, at natural colour and non chill filtered. Bottles will be individually numbered by hand and will be housed in a deluxe gift box.
Batch One is being marketed in fifteen countries worldwide, with shipments to the UK, Europe, South Africa, Asia and New Zealand scheduled for the first week of August.
The full cask list is:
1971 cask 483, 38 years old
1972 cask 719, 37 years old
1992 cask 1140, 16 years old
1993 cask 523, 16 years old
1996 cask 193, 13 years old
21.07.09
7 More Awards for the BenRiach GlenDronach Distillery Company
The BenRiach GlenDronach Distillery Company continues to attract awards, with a further seven gained at the International Spirits Challenge.
The seven new awards – four silver and three bronze - come hard on the heels of the ten gained earlier last week at the 2009 International Wine and Spirits Competition.
The awards are:
BenRiach 12yo – Silver
BenRiach 13yo – Bronze
GlenDronach 12yo – Silver
GlenDronach 15yo – Silver
GlenDronach 18yo – Silver
GlenDronach 33yo – Bronze
Birnie Moss – Bronze
16.07.09
BenRiach Distillery Company Wins Ten Awards at International Wine
& Spirits Competition
The team at GlenDronach and BenRiach are celebrating after winning an impressive ten top awards in the prestigious 2009 International Wine and Spirits Competition.
Founded in 1969, The International Wine and Spirit Competition is the premier competition of its kind in the world. Its aim is to promote the quality and excellence of the world's finest wines, spirits and liqueurs.
IWSC medals and trophies are the most highly regarded in the trade, representing the best of the best in the world of wine and spirits.
The Competition received more than 7000 entries from over 80 countries.
In results published today (July 16), the company entered 10 whiskies from both the BenRiach and GlenDronach brands, and won 10 medals – 1 Gold, 8 Silver and 1 Bronze.
GlenDronach Distillery has four expressions and all four won medals including a Gold and Best in Class for its 15 year-old ‘Revival’ while BenRiach won a further six awards including two Silver and Best in Class.
The company’s awards were:
GlenDronach Medals
Gold Best in Class GlenDronach 15YO ‘Revival’
Silver Best in Class GlenDronach 33YO
Silver GlenDronach 12YO Original (new 2009 version)
Silver GlenDronach 18YO Allardice
BenRiach Medals
Silver Best in Class BenRiach ‘Maderensis Fumosus’ 13YO Peated / Madeira Finish
Silver Best in Class BenRiach 16YO
Silver BenRiach 12YO
Silver BenRiach ‘Curiositas’ 10YO Peated
Silver BenRiach ‘Authenticus’ 21YO Peated
Bronze BenRiach 15YO Dark Rum Finish
The judges’ Tasting Notes for the GlenDronach 15 year old “Revival” commented: “Great concentration of complex aromas on the nose including treacle toffee, chocolate, orange, toasted nuts and vanilla. Great depth in the mouth, with all the nose promised, plus some Demerara sugar, sweet malt and lots of toast. Great balance with firm tightness which is offset to a degree by lots of mellow notes. Long finish has distinct gingery note.”
We are absolutely delighted that ten of our expressions have been recognised at such a prestigious competition.
28.04.09
Cheers! Unknown Larbert Liquid Link to Whisky Galore
(Press Release - 28/04/09) .
The BenRiach GlenDronach Distillery Company is sponsoring the screening of “Whisky Galore” in Bo’ness later this month...
...and we have just discovered that it’s highly likely some of our whisky was on the ship that features in the film!
The classic 1949 film is based on a true story about a ship, the Politician, which sank outside Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides eight years earlier carrying 50,000 cases of Scotch.
The comedy tells the hugely enjoyable story of the efforts of the islanders to salvage the precious liquid cargo before Customs and Excise officials arrive.
To celebrate Whisky Month, which is part of Homecoming Scotland 2009, the new Bo’ness Hippodrome Cinema is presenting an exclusive screening of the film with an introduction by whisky expert Keith Hewitt.
The screening and talk will be preceded by an opportunity to sample single malt whiskies from the GlenDronach and BenRiach range.
And in preparing for the event, the GlenDronach team made the startling discovery that GlenDronach was likely to have been amongst the shipwrecked 50,000 cases.
The entire consignment on the Politician was blended whisky heading for America. For many years GlenDronach and Ballantine’s were linked, and as such it's highly likely that GlenDronach was one of the malts used to make Ballantine’s, which was part of the cargo.
Falkirk Council’s Alison Strauss, programmer of the Hippodrome, said: “’Whisky Galore!’ is such a classic film because it combines all the elements of Ealing’s best productions.
"My Dad first got me into great British cinema titles like this watching telly on a Sunday afternoon and many people like me will know and love this film already. But there’s something extra-special about seeing it on a big screen, with an audience and in Scotland’s oldest surviving cinema!
"And of course with Keith’s talk and the whisky tastings, it’s going to be a hot ticket to have.”
‘Whisky Galore!’ will be presented at the Bo’ness Hippodrome, 10 Hope Street, Bo’ness EH51 0AA, on Thursday May 14. Doors open at 6:45pm, with whisky tastings from 6:45pm to 7:45pm, followed by the talk at 7:50pm. The film starts at 8:20pm.
Tickets - £10 (£7.50 concessions) are available from the Hippodrome or call the Steeple Box Office on 01324 506850.
22.04.09
GlenDronach Sells Out in Belgium
(Press Release - 22/04/09)
It gave us chocolate, the saxophone and Tintin. Now Scotland is giving Belgium top-end malt whisky..and it can’t get enough!
Three weeks ago, GlenDronach launched the new range of twelve, fifteen and eighteen-year old malts and already the first 3000-bottle consignment has sold out in Belgium, much to the surprise and delight of the GlenDronach team.
So why is “the cockpit of Europe” fighting to get its hands on one of Scotland’s original sherried malts?
GlenDronach’s Belgian importer The Nectar, represented by Mario Groeteklaes, explained: “GlenDronach has always been a well-known brand in Belgium, especially the “old” fifteen-year-old.
“Latterly, its distribution was limited, but a lot of enthusiasm has been shown by our customers when they heard that GlenDronach was to be re-launched by its new owners, the BenRiach Distillery Company.
“That, and the good publicity given to the new fifteen and eighteen-year-olds by some Malt Maniacs, and on some forums, made it easy to introduce the new range to about one hundred specialised liquor stores over Belgium in just one week."
“I think that this “old” style of sherry flavours fits well into the taste of the Belgian whisky market where GlenDronach can, in the upcoming years, challenge Macallan supremacy.”
We are absolutely delighted to have received this enormous level of enthusiasm towards the new GlenDronach expressions from such an influential market.
06.04.09
Whisky - A Drink For the Ladies?
'New research has found a significant increase in the number of female connoisseurs thirsting over a wee dram.'
On the 6th of April 2009, STV featured The GlenDronach Distillery in a television news story. To view the film and read more on this article please click the following link:
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/86953-whisky-a-drink-for-the-ladies
07.04.09
GlenDronach, The Richly Sherried Single Malt, Makes a Spirited Comeback
(Press Release - 07/04/09)
Warm, rich oak and sherry sweetness. Deep amber gold. Rich mahogany. Spiced mulled wine and pear. Treacle toffee and chocolate orange. Fruit compote and glacier morello cherries. Walnut cake and mocha. Viscous and syrupy.
An astonishing smorgasbord of complex tastes, colours and character is at the heart of the new GlenDronach portfolio of single malts which are re-launched today (Tuesday April 7) following a £250,000 investment by its new owners, The BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd.
The GlenDronach Distillery in Forgue, Aberdeenshire, is famous for producing richly-sherried single malt whiskies of inimitable and individual character. Today sees three sublime malts – a 12, 15 and 18-year-old - make a welcome re-appearance on the market.
This is the beginning of our strategy to re-package and re-launch GlenDronach in markets worldwide. We've taken it back to how it was originally, promoting it as one of Scotland's original sherried whiskies."
Whisky connoisseurs have been waiting patiently for our new core range and it’s exciting for all of us at GlenDronach to be part of bringing this iconic brand back to life.
The name "GlenDronach" is Gaelic for "the valley of the brambles" but there's nothing prickly about our three new releases. All have that distinctive sweet, sherried GlenDronach nose, with subtle hints of chocolate, ginger, autumn fruits and much more.
And you don't have to imagine them any longer; you can now taste them for yourself. The sleeping giant has awoken!
For more information and stockists, please email: info@glendronachdistillery.co.uk or call our head office
on +44 (0) 1324 682220.
11.03.09
Make Mine a Treble!
You know that urban myth about how you wait for a bus, it never comes... and you wait longer and longer, then several come along together?
Well, we know GlenDronach aficionados have been waiting patiently for our new core range ever since we
bought the distillery last summer.
The great news is that the first release of not one, not two, but THREE wonderful GlenDronach malts will be available for worldwide release from the middle of April.
On their way are a 12, 15 and 18 year old. And to show that something new and exciting is happening, we've enhanced the packaging. It's still traditionally Scottish but we've added some colourful new flourishes to freshen
it up.
This is the beginning of our exciting strategy to re-package and re-launch GlenDronach in markets worldwide. We've taken it back to how it was originally, promoting it as one of Scotland's original sherried whiskies.
The name "Glendronach" is Gaelic for "the valley of the brambles" but there's nothing prickly about our three new releases. All have that distinctive sweet, sherried GlenDronach nose, with subtle hints of chocolate, ginger and autumn fruits.
17.02.09
The Sleeping Giant has Awoken
Many changes have been happening at GlenDronach over the past few months and exciting times lie ahead for the distillery.
Work has now started on a £250,000 development of the GlenDronach malt whisky brand.
We will be re-packaging and re-lauching GlenDronach in markets worldwide and will take Glendronach back to how it was originally, promoting it as one of Scotland's original sherried whiskies."
GlenDronach has been a sleeping giant for a number of years as it was not part of the previous owner’s expansion plans, however we are looking forward to breathing new life into it and giving it the attention and commitment it deserves.
We will be releasing a new core range in April 2009 which will comprise twelve, fifteen and eighteen-year-old malts. We will also be releasing a non-aged whisky, single cask bottlings and some incredibly rare vintage malts.
A major part of the quarter million investment is the development of a new Visitor Centre at the distillery, which
will be opening in 2009. We are completely re-vamping the original visitor centre and are creating a visitor attraction where both connoisseurs and those new to whisky can learn more about GlenDronach.