Scotland, Eastern Highlands/Speyside. Distillery operational. Owner: Brown Forman

It was under the wardship of Allied Domecq, the distillery's owners until the early 2000s, that Glendronach made a name for itself amongst fans of sherry cask single malts. As well as an outstanding, generous and distinguished 12 year old version, the 18 year old versions from 1972, 1976 and 1977 (written on the back of the bottle) particularly attracted the attention of connoisseurs. In the early 90s, several bottlings of The Glendronach 25 Year old 1968 produced for the Japanese market (ANA Edition) and American market (sold partly in Europe) caught the eye of those in the know and allowed a glimpse of the quality of the casks maturing in the distillery's vaults. But it would not be until 2008, with the arrival of Billy Walker at the helm, that this sleeping beauty would truly reveal her potential.As we begin the 21st century, while many have long ago swapped their Andalusian attire for a more round and consensual style, The Glendronach remains centre stage by regularly releasing single cask, vintage versions matured entirely in sherry casks, much to the delight of whisky collectors and enthusiasts.

A Glendronach distilled in 1960 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice range. Gordon & MacPhail is one of Scotland’’s oldest independent bottlers. It was founded in Elgin in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. As was often the case at the time, the business started out as a delicatessen and wine merchant. In 1915, John Alexander MacPhail retired and a new partner joined the business, John Urquhart. He was joined by his son George in 1933, a few years after James Gordon sadly died in a car crash. Gordon & MacPhail works with many of Speyside’’s leading distilleries, from whom it has accumulated considerable stocks. It is also licensed to bottle whiskies for many of them, including Glen Grant, Linkwood, Mortlach, Macallan and Glenlivet. The business really took off in the 1970s, acquiring distributors in a huge range of countries and selling casks to several Italian bottlers in selections that would become legends in their own right. Gordon & MacPhail is still run by the Urquhart family today, from the same building, and is one of the most iconic bottlers in the industry, with incredible stocks of sometimes very old and rare whiskies. The company is in complete control of the entire maturation process. Gordon & MacPhail has also owned the Benromach distillery since 1993. The Connoisseurs Choice range is one of Gordon & MacPhail’’s spearhead collections. Created for the Italian collector and importer Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, it became part of the permanent range in 1979 and has remained so ever since, despite changing greatly, from red and black labels to map labels and today’’s design, as well as the gradient label. Older editions were bottled at 40% and coloured artificially. Today, the whiskies in the range display their natural colouring and are often cask strength.