The new batch was hand selected by master blender Dr Rachel Barrie. Credit: The GlenDronach Distillery.

The GlenDronach Distillery in Scotland has announced the release of the seventeenth batch under its Cask Bottling programme.

Featuring 14 casks dated 1990 to 2007, the new batch was hand-selected by Master Blender Dr Rachel Barrie.

Barrie said: “Each cask individually explores the sophistication, powerful intricacy and rich layers of Spanish sherry cask maturation found in every GlenDronach expression; from layers of crème brûlée, treacle toffee and over-ripe banana in 1990 to baked blackberry and currants with dark chocolate in 1992, burnt raisin and Oloroso-soaked tobacco leaf in 1995 to toasted pain au raisin and butterscotch simmering beneath the surface in 2007.

“The distinctive flavour and rich mouthfeel of each cask has developed during the slow maturation process. All 14 casks are bottled without chill-filtration for richness, at high strength and are naturally deep in colour.”

The seventeenth batch features a collection of distillery’s signature Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía in Spain, as well as two Port pipes from the Douro Valley in Portugal.

Additionally, the collection includes a cask from 1995. It is one of the last remaining casks at the distillery from this vintage.

Beginning this month, The GlenDronach Cask Bottling – Batch 17 can be purchased from specialist retailers in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The complete range of GlenDronach whiskies in Batch 17 includes 1990 Cask #2623, 1990 Cask #7905, 1992 Cask #113, 1992 Cask #221, 1992 Cask #847, 1992 Cask #5896, 1993 Cask #416, 1993 Cask #5976, 1994 Cask #325, 1995 Cask #3040, 2005 Cask #887, 2006 Cask #3343, 2006 Cask #3359 and 2007 Cask #6769.