I just got my Glenallachie 15 over the holidays, so mines not really fully awake yet, but yeah Glenallachie is a bit more on the dense side(both in color and palate) without necessarily being as complex and spicy as Glendronach because the cask maturation isnt 100% sherry like The Revival. Glenallachie has a bit of Virgin Oak in the mix too and is more PX dominant compared to Glendronachs Olorosso lead character being accented with a conservative PX finish. Billy Walker seems to have flipped the script for his newest squeeze. I cant remember if you've reviewed the Glenallachie 10 Cask Strength, but if you have the chance you should put that and the 15 head to head. Nice comparison.
Thanks for the insight! .... that makes a lot of sense. the Glenallachie 10 cask was the first on my radar from the distillery but I have had no luck finding a bottle. I'll have to hit the interwebs this morning and see if I can hunt one down ... Cheers!
This is so great to see. I never found the Billy Walker 15GD...just 12s, 18s, 21....my favorites. Cannot find his new distillery. I cannot find the Brown Foreman GDs...
Hey Jeff .... all the old bottlings of GD are pretty much gone over here now, too much turnover. You might run into one now and again at some hole in the wall liquor store that has had it sitting on the shelf for 5 years but even that's pretty rare now in my experience. Glenallachie is pretty hard to find too .... I actually got lucky and found a bottle of the 12 yesterday at said hole in the wall but as I mentioned in the video I had to order the 15 from the UK. I'm looking forward to production ramping up on their core range and hopefully we will start to see more available over here ... we will see ... cheers!
Now I don't know for sure but for my taste the Glenallachie seems to maybe use more of the seasoned oak. Their young ones are very dark. I think the Glendronach used to be better because it was actually closer to 18 years old as distillery was mothballed but they use more ex olloroso cask. I think as Walker gets time he will bring in more casks. I love the new cask Glenallachie using other wood. Cheers for the review!
Hey Jack! .... Yes, the years after the reopening of Glendronach spoiled everyone with the actual whiskies they were bottling. You might be right about the casks and Glenallachie. I agree, I have seen quite a few "ex" cask versions from Glenallachie .... It's pretty cool to see. I have been eyeing a few "ex rye" bottles that I think would be interesting. Cheers!
I can't find the GlenDronach 15 for the life of me where I live... and when I do it costs more than double than the GlenAllachie 15. And I just found the GlenAllachie 15 for an excellent price... love my Glenallachie 12 so this was a no brainer... now waiting for it to arrive. As far as their 12 year old, GlenDronach 12 was my favorite for a while (on my third bottle)... but the script has flipped lately and currently I'm enjoying more the GlenAllachie. Not getting the GD15 anytime soon but my brother in law has the 15, the 18 and the 21... we're trying to schedule a tasting, I already told him I must try those. I will be very surprised if any of those tastes better than the expensive Balvenie 15 Single Barrel though, my absolute favorite (again, had it at my inlaw's... a bit to pricey for me today)
GD15 is a really good whisky in my opinion. It’s right in my wheelhouse and flavor profile. GD18 takes it up a notch again … I would be interested in how you like older ones. Let us know when you have had a chance to taste them. Cheers!
@@happyhourwhiskey Haven't tasted the GlenDronachs, but have tasted my GlenAllachie 15 that just arrived. Just like with the GlenAllachie 12, it's clear the bottle needs some time to open up. But still really good. I thought it had a very powerful arrival... dark fruits all around, oak, chocolate... Not as spicy as I thought it would be, but it's there. Still need to pour the 12 and the 15 side by side, but I want to give the bottle a couple weeks to breath... made the world of difference on the 12. Cheers!
Hey Homer! I would love too, unfortunately I do not have a Tamdhu 15 yet. I just received my first bottle ever of Tamdhu, the cask strength version though. The few drams I have had make we want to try some some other expresions from them. I do plan on comparing the batch strength Tamdhu to Glendronach cask strength in a video very soon. Cheers!
Hi there! Greetings from Tokyo (Happy 2022!) M very new to single malt scene. Bought GA12 which I absolutely luv n seems perfect for a beginner. Also thinking about getting GD12…. But GlenFarcas12 is soooo much cheaper…. Is GD12 worth the premium pricing in ur opinion? Thanks n Cheers!
Hey Bobio! Happy 2022 to you as well. That’s a tough call …. Not sure how much GD12 is in Tokyo but is still one of my favorite sherried whiskies. Over here GD12 is about 15-20% more money than Farclas 12 and I think it is worth it. For what it’s worth I actually prefer 10 yr farclas a little more than the 12. I just got a bottle of GA12 but not had a chance to compare with GD12 yet so I can’t comment on those yet. You might want to check out bunnahabhain 12 ….. as good if not better than GD12. Good luck and enjoy! .. Cheers!
It didn't look like half a point in Glendronach favor - seemed like you didn't like Glenallachie that much... Everybody knows you're team Dronach :D Have you tried Aberfeldy 16yo yet?
Lol … it’s true, I haven’t met a glendronach that I didn’t like yet. I really like the Glenallachie 15, it’s a lot darker and funkier which is good. I was expecting them to be a little closer in profile for some reason. Not bad at all, just different. I do find the glendronach a little more balanced? …. First world problems … lol …. Cheers Kaliban!
Great question actually! …. Lol … for me when I say funk I am thinking of several things…. Maybe a little wet wood/leaves or maybe a damp basement/ garage or even a little mushroomy???? …. Hard to pinpoint exactly and maybe a little too general but usually an earthy/musty/oily kind of note …. Cheers Chris!
I just got my Glenallachie 15 over the holidays, so mines not really fully awake yet, but yeah Glenallachie is a bit more on the dense side(both in color and palate) without necessarily being as complex and spicy as Glendronach because the cask maturation isnt 100% sherry like The Revival. Glenallachie has a bit of Virgin Oak in the mix too and is more PX dominant compared to Glendronachs Olorosso lead character being accented with a conservative PX finish. Billy Walker seems to have flipped the script for his newest squeeze. I cant remember if you've reviewed the Glenallachie 10 Cask Strength, but if you have the chance you should put that and the 15 head to head. Nice comparison.
Thanks for the insight! .... that makes a lot of sense. the Glenallachie 10 cask was the first on my radar from the distillery but I have had no luck finding a bottle. I'll have to hit the interwebs this morning and see if I can hunt one down ... Cheers!
Nice comparison.
Thanks! appreciate it!
This is so great to see.
I never found the Billy Walker 15GD...just 12s, 18s, 21....my favorites.
Cannot find his new distillery.
I cannot find the Brown Foreman GDs...
Hey Jeff .... all the old bottlings of GD are pretty much gone over here now, too much turnover. You might run into one now and again at some hole in the wall liquor store that has had it sitting on the shelf for 5 years but even that's pretty rare now in my experience. Glenallachie is pretty hard to find too .... I actually got lucky and found a bottle of the 12 yesterday at said hole in the wall but as I mentioned in the video I had to order the 15 from the UK. I'm looking forward to production ramping up on their core range and hopefully we will start to see more available over here ... we will see ... cheers!
@@happyhourwhiskey great job..you are putting out some excellent videos!
Cheers
@@jeffmill999 Thanks Jeff … appreciate it and enjoy your comments and opinions.
Great video. Very interested on both. Let's see if I can find them.
Good luck! ... both great whiskies ... Cheers!
Need to get these two, have tried their samples and liked them. Nice comparison.
Thanks Ravi! ... I don't think you will be disappointed. Cheers!
Now I don't know for sure but for my taste the Glenallachie seems to maybe use more of the seasoned oak. Their young ones are very dark. I think the Glendronach used to be better because it was actually closer to 18 years old as distillery was mothballed but they use more ex olloroso cask. I think as Walker gets time he will bring in more casks. I love the new cask Glenallachie using other wood. Cheers for the review!
Hey Jack! .... Yes, the years after the reopening of Glendronach spoiled everyone with the actual whiskies they were bottling. You might be right about the casks and Glenallachie. I agree, I have seen quite a few "ex" cask versions from Glenallachie .... It's pretty cool to see. I have been eyeing a few "ex rye" bottles that I think would be interesting. Cheers!
I can't find the GlenDronach 15 for the life of me where I live... and when I do it costs more than double than the GlenAllachie 15. And I just found the GlenAllachie 15 for an excellent price... love my Glenallachie 12 so this was a no brainer... now waiting for it to arrive.
As far as their 12 year old, GlenDronach 12 was my favorite for a while (on my third bottle)... but the script has flipped lately and currently I'm enjoying more the GlenAllachie. Not getting the GD15 anytime soon but my brother in law has the 15, the 18 and the 21... we're trying to schedule a tasting, I already told him I must try those. I will be very surprised if any of those tastes better than the expensive Balvenie 15 Single Barrel though, my absolute favorite (again, had it at my inlaw's... a bit to pricey for me today)
GD15 is a really good whisky in my opinion. It’s right in my wheelhouse and flavor profile. GD18 takes it up a notch again … I would be interested in how you like older ones. Let us know when you have had a chance to taste them. Cheers!
@@happyhourwhiskey Haven't tasted the GlenDronachs, but have tasted my GlenAllachie 15 that just arrived. Just like with the GlenAllachie 12, it's clear the bottle needs some time to open up. But still really good. I thought it had a very powerful arrival... dark fruits all around, oak, chocolate... Not as spicy as I thought it would be, but it's there. Still need to pour the 12 and the 15 side by side, but I want to give the bottle a couple weeks to breath... made the world of difference on the 12. Cheers!
Great review
can you do a comparison of tamdhu 15 against this two ?
Hey Homer! I would love too, unfortunately I do not have a Tamdhu 15 yet. I just received my first bottle ever of Tamdhu, the cask strength version though. The few drams I have had make we want to try some some other expresions from them. I do plan on comparing the batch strength Tamdhu to Glendronach cask strength in a video very soon. Cheers!
I’ve only had the glendronach 15, but it is a cracker for sure.
It sure is! …. Seems to get better every dram. Cheers!
Hi there! Greetings from Tokyo (Happy 2022!) M very new to single malt scene. Bought GA12 which I absolutely luv n seems perfect for a beginner. Also thinking about getting GD12…. But GlenFarcas12 is soooo much cheaper…. Is GD12 worth the premium pricing in ur opinion? Thanks n Cheers!
Hey Bobio! Happy 2022 to you as well. That’s a tough call …. Not sure how much GD12 is in Tokyo but is still one of my favorite sherried whiskies. Over here GD12 is about 15-20% more money than Farclas 12 and I think it is worth it. For what it’s worth I actually prefer 10 yr farclas a little more than the 12. I just got a bottle of GA12 but not had a chance to compare with GD12 yet so I can’t comment on those yet. You might want to check out bunnahabhain 12 ….. as good if not better than GD12. Good luck and enjoy! .. Cheers!
It didn't look like half a point in Glendronach favor - seemed like you didn't like Glenallachie that much... Everybody knows you're team Dronach :D Have you tried Aberfeldy 16yo yet?
Lol … it’s true, I haven’t met a glendronach that I didn’t like yet. I really like the Glenallachie 15, it’s a lot darker and funkier which is good. I was expecting them to be a little closer in profile for some reason. Not bad at all, just different. I do find the glendronach a little more balanced? …. First world problems … lol …. Cheers Kaliban!
The aberfeldy releases are easy drinking and very subtle... too subtle for me.
In my country (Greece) glenallachie 15 have 70-75€ and glendronach 15 have 110-120€. I thinking for glenallachie 15.
For that much of a price difference I would agree … go for the glenallachie … I don’t think you will be disappointed! …. Cheers Giannis!
@@happyhourwhiskey Thanks.
'funk'?? Can you explain, please?
Great question actually! …. Lol … for me when I say funk I am thinking of several things…. Maybe a little wet wood/leaves or maybe a damp basement/ garage or even a little mushroomy???? …. Hard to pinpoint exactly and maybe a little too general but usually an earthy/musty/oily kind of note …. Cheers Chris!