4.8/5 with 11,500+ reviews
Celebrating Women in Whisky: Dr Rachel Barrie
As the Master Blender for Brown-Forman (powerhouse behind iconic brands like The Glendronach, Glenglassaugh, and Benriach), Barrie has played an instrumental role in crafting the finest single malts available today. Her ability to blend rare and exceptional casks has earned her recognition as one of the industry's leading experts.
One of her most recent achievements is the curation of The Masters Anthology, which includes Ode to the Valley, Ode to the Embers, and Ode to the Dark.
"The Master’s Anthology is a tribute to the art of sherry cask maturation, reflecting the exceptional taste and deep character that have become synonymous with the Glendronach over almost 200 years. This collection is a journey into the heart of our distillery, where time-honoured traditions and natural influences shape every drop of our whisky."
Dr Rachel Barrie
Like candlelight through a window on a dark winter’s evening, Glendronach Ode To The Dark is a deep amber liquid glowing with hidden depths. Bottled at 50.8%, this is part of The Master's Anthology and is a single malt offering from Glendronach that has been matured in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
The liquid bursts onto the palate with light spices and sweetness which is then given a rounded complexity with the rich darkness of its underlying flavours of mocha, black cherry and chocolate.
True to its name, The Glendronach’s Ode to the Embers is a lightly peated expression reminiscent of warm winter evenings breathing in the soft curls of fireside smoke while tucking into a hot fruit crumble. Made partly in homage to an older style of whisky making in which malt kilns were filled with peat smoke, this liquid (48.4% abv) was matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximinez casks, contrasting its smoke with a sherried sweetness, creating a balanced and tasty dram indeed!
A bottling to honour the stunning Highland landscape surrounding the Glendronach Distillery, this breathtaking piece of flavour and design is Glendronach Ode to the Valley. The single malt is full of fruity spirit, brought on by its combination maturation in sherry and ruby port casks from the Douro Valley of Portugal. Bottled at 46.2%, expect notes of ripe summer berries, apricot jam, apple crumble and ginger.
"Each bottling is a new composition where we amplify notes but we keep the rich harmony, that is our tradition, at the heart of the liquid. Ode to the Valley sings of an abundance of ripe fruit, it is the landscape of the Glendronach Distillery in full glory, while Ode to the Embers cloaks warm and rich spice in smouldering wisps of smoke, speaking of the days of old in the Valley of Forgue. Ode to the Dark enrobes velvet chocolate over dark plum and black cherry, caramelised dates and coffee, to bask the Glendronach in rich splendour."
Dr Rachel Barrie
