Welcome back to another fine tasting of two single malts, where I get to document my journey of exploring these whiskies in more detail by comparing them side-by-side, picking out a favourite, and hopefully learning something new along the way. I’m pretty excited about this one because it promises to be a fantastic tasting, for which I even popped open a cherished bottle. In the left corner, we’ve got a 25-year-old single cask distilled by Arran in 1996. This dram came courtesy of Cask Explorer‘s 2022 Advent Calendar (Diamond Edition) hiding behind door number 9. I’m very pleased to discover it there because I already own a bottle of this fantastic single malt [and it’s unopened]! To find the right pairing, I had to seriously stroke my chin for an honourable contender and landed on a 26-year-old single cask distilled by Glendronach in 1993. How is that for a tasting? So let’s get to it, but first, we need music! Now playing: The Future Sound Of London – Accelerator.

Besides the two drams that are part of this tasting, which are currently patiently awaiting to be sipped in their Glencairn glasses (at this age, I want to give the whisky a bit of time to breathe; the rule of thumb here is – for each year in the cask spend a minute in the glass), I will also be tasting another single malt on the side, just for fun. To round things off, I will be sipping on a 23-year-old single cask of Glenrothes distilled in 1997 and bottled by Morrison for their Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask series. I picked it because the two contenders promise to be somewhat sweet, and I am guessing this from the colour of the whiskies alone. All three of these bottles are un-coloured, non-chill filtered, and bottled at cask strength from individual casks, which means I can trust the colour in my glasses. The Arran doesn’t reveal the type of cask it was matured in, but it’s very dark ruby in colour, so, most likely, some type of [sweet?] sherry. The Glendronach, on the other hand, reveals that it spent its entire life in the Pedro Ximénez puncheon. So I know that this will be pretty sweet right away. What’s fascinating here is that the Arran looks a shade darker! So it may be from a PX cask as well. I’ll find out in a bit. The Glenrothes came from a sherry butt, and it is a few shades lighter than either of the single malts. Finally, the Arran is bottled at 50.2% and the Glendronach at 50.9%, so they are pretty close to their alcohol content, while the Glenrothes is at a punchy 58.0%. I will be adding drops of water to all three (maybe more to the Glenrothes). Let’s finally go in and nose these three!

The Arran comes in as a punchy sherried monster. This may be just an ex-sherry barrel because the Glendronach is undoubtedly sweeter smelling (and the Glenrothes is just a fruity blast). The Arran is closer to the Glenrothes, but the fruit here is more stewed than ripe. The Glendronach is the very same deep fruit now dipped in chocolate, the darker of all three. Okay, let’s go in for a taste – I cannot wait! Starting with the Arran. Wow. What a sherried beast. It’s like a dessert version of Macallan! It’s rich but not overly sweet. There is less toffee and more sherry, but it works so well, with the alcohol delivering the flavour and not ripping through the profile. I am extremely happy with this dram (especially because I have another bottle). I believe I’ve met this whisky at the Arran tasting in the past, which is why I ran out and dropped the cash for my archives. OK, before the long finish decepates, let’s go for the Glendronach. Wow, this one is also delicious! Not as sweet as I expected! Perfectly balanced and not bitter at all. It tastes slightly thin – I think that I expected “syrupy” from a PX-aged whisky. Lovely, long and complex finish. The Glenrothes is very different from these two. It’s drier and spicier, with more cinnamon and clove and, obviously, a higher alcohol content. I’ll set this one to the side for now and focus on the main event.

I’ve added a drop of water to both to have them open up and break up the alcohol molecules so that the flavour becomes unchained. Let’s go back to the Arran and then to the Glendronach again. The profile on the Arran changed, and now I’m wondering if it is also from a PX cask. The Glendronach is a little funkier [my bottle needs to breathe] and chewy now, with elements of burnt, caramelized fruit, like sweet apples and plums. It’s got more character, for sure, but the Arran is just so well-integrated! I’ll take a sip of San Pellegrino now and try these in reverse. Maybe another drop of water and a quick walk on my balcony for fresh air (while I sip on that Glenrothes!). Also, this Glenrothes greatly improved – I don’t remember it like this! Did I ever cover it here? [Checking my archives]. No, I have not! I bought this bottle on a recommendation from a whisky shop proprietor, who convinced me to check it out when we were talking smack about the Macallan. But that’s another story. Back to the Glendronach, which I snatched from the Tyndrumwhisky shop at The Green Welly Stop when I visited Scotland two years ago! It was exclusive to the shop, Cask number 6732. Oh, and it has smoothed out now. What a lovely dessert dram! And now, back to the Arran, and it’s changed as well! It’s less complex than the Glendronach but has a lovely fruity character that’s more spread out. How do I describe these? Okay, picture a spectrum of fruity stewed sweetness on a horizontal plane. The Glendronach is narrower and deeper towards the sweeter side, while the Arran is a little wider and shallower. But both are absolutely grand!

Distillery / Region	Lochranza / Island	Glendronach / Highlands
Producer	Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd	BenRiach Distillery Company
Bottler / Series	Distillery bottling / single cask	Distillery bottling / single cask
Stated Age / Vintage	25 years old / 1996	26 years old / 1993
Cask type / number of bottles	Unknown #905 / 265	PX puncheon # 6732 / 701
ABV / Cask Strength	50.2% / Yes	50.9% / Yes
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	Yes / Yes 🌟	Yes / Yes 🌟
Price	£800 / secondary market	£400 / secondary market
Did it win? / Did I like it?	Yes / Yes	Yes / Yes
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	Yes / Yes	Yes / Yes

So there you have it, folks, another fantastic tasting. I usually don’t write this much in a single sitting, but I couldn’t help myself. It seems there was a lot I had to say about these whiskies, and now that I’ve said it all, I cannot pick a winner. They’re both absolutely incredible, and I cannot think of which one I would reach for more. I’ve had this happen before, and I am fine with the outcome. It’s better than not picking either one! If anything, I’ll say there are more sweet cherries in the Arran, while there is more chocolate in the Glendronach. So make your pick. And with that said, I will proclaim a draw between these two fantastic single malts and take a mental note to return with that Glenrothes.