The Glendronach has always been a bold, rich spirit, born from the rugged Scottish Highlands and exemplifying a robust, sherried style of whisky. This is not changing, but its appearance is. On the back of a new visual campaign, helmed by renowned Scottish photographer Rankin, The Glendronach recently unveiled a new packaging and bottle design that courts the 21st-century whisky connoisseur.
There was not a particular event that prompted the change, but Stuart Fear—the regional ambassador of Brown-Forman, the company that owns the Glendronach distillery—points out that The Glendronach’s appearance has been unchanged practically since the distillery was brought back from the mothballs in the 2000s. “I think, with times and whisky drinkers changing, it was the right time for a revamp. We want to elevate the luxury of it, but we’re still keeping some of the key features,” he says. The bottle is shaped differently, moving from a classic cylinder to one with a round top that tapers gently to a square bottom. The label is smaller, with its design elements more unobtrusive, even as it retains aspects such as a drawing of the distillery.
“We see a move to a more quiet luxury, a bit more of a humble style,” Fear says. “And that’s what we’ve always been. The Glendronach’s always been a little bit more humble, not as flashy as others. But we still represent what we always have. It’s still the same classic Glendronach spirit, still the same sort of liquid, just a new-look packaging to fit with the times. Whisky drinkers now are not the whisky drinkers from 10, 20 years ago.”
Rankin, who travelled to the distillery to observe its landscape and character, had an additional subject to work with—a flamenco dancer from Spain, whose flowing form can be seen next to the distillery’s stills. The choice of subject is a pointed emphasis on one of The Glendronach’s defining aspects: its liquid is aged exclusively in sherry casks from Spain. “He really liked the concept of Highlands spirit with Spanish flair—the duality between the two,” Fear says of Rankin.
“We want to highlight the Spanish element. Everyone knows about sherry casks now—it’s a trend. But if you look at the history of Glendronach, for almost 200 years and since 1826, we’ve always been about sherry casks. And even now we can probably say we are 100 per cent Spanish sherry oak. So not only is the sherry from Spain, the cask itself, the oak is also Spanish oak—which is some of the most expensive and some of the rarest casks in the industry,” Fear explains. “It creates a different flavour. If you’re using American oak, you get more vanillins. It will be a bit sweeter, a bit creamier. If you want that really rich and robust nature, with a little bit of tannins in there, a little bit of the oak coming through, you have to use Spanish oak.”
Appearances aside, the core range of Glendronach, consisting of 12-, 15- and 18-year-olds, remains unchanged. “The Glendronach is for sherry cask connoisseurs. If you want to know what classic sherry cask style is, it’s The Glendronach,” Fear says. “We are not about that light, fruity, sweet style—we are rich, robust. It’s oranges, it’s chocolate, it’s tobacco, it’s raisins, dried fruits. It’s really a revelation in flavour, one that cannot be made at other distilleries. At other distilleries, you have people doing sherry cask finishing, you have marriages of bourbon and sherry. The Glendronach is still 100 per cent Spanish sherry oak, exclusively. From day one until 12 years, or 15, 18, it’s sherry cask it’s whole life.”
Locally, The Glendronach’s re-launch is marked by a collaboration with Nadodi, where the restaurant’s robust South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine was paired the distillery’s equally bold drams. The restaurant is running a specially curated seven-course pairing menu (from RM990) until 30 November.
