Scottish single malt whisky brand The GlenDronach marked the 200th anniversary of its distillery's founding with an event introducing the brand's history and sherry cask maturation tradition. Brown-Forman Korea held "The GlenDronach 200th Anniversary Master Class" on the 10th at Josun Palace Seoul Gangnam in Gangnam District, Seoul.
The class was led by Kim Jin-hwan, head of Bar Swallow. Kim described GlenDronach as "a whisky known as 'the king of sherry,'" adding, "Among the whiskies I most often recommend to beginners, along with Macallan and Balvenie, is GlenDronach."
The GlenDronach began at a distillery founded in 1826 by James Allardice in the Highlands of Scotland. The brand name means "valley of the blackberry" in Gaelic. In particular, it highlights sherry cask maturation as a core feature of the brand.
Kim said, "Generally, a wide range of American or European oak casks are used to mature whisky, but GlenDronach uses only top-grade Spanish oak casks," emphasizing GlenDronach's distinctive sherry character.
At the event, The GlenDronach unveiled its key core lineup, including the 12-, 15- and 18-year expressions, along with the limited "Boynsmill House Edition" released to celebrate the distillery's 200th anniversary.
The Boynsmill House Edition takes its name from "Boynsmill House" located on the distillery grounds. The brand said it embodies the meaning of "hospitality" it has emphasized, inspired by an anecdote of founder Allardice inviting people here and serving them whisky and food he made himself.
The product is a 14-year-old single malt whisky matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry casks, then further matured in Claret red wine casks. Master blender Rachel Barrie selected the casks, and the alcohol by volume is 46.8%. For Korea, 3,000 bottles were allocated, and the suggested retail price is 180,000 won.
Also on display at the venue was "The GlenDronach 1968," the longest-matured whisky in GlenDronach's history. Distilled in 1968 and matured for 56 years, only 200 bottles were produced worldwide. Of these, three were allocated to Korea.
Marking its 200th anniversary, GlenDronach is expanding brand touchpoints in the Korean market as well. According to Brown-Forman Korea, Korea is one of GlenDronach's key markets in Asia, and a significant quantity of the Boynsmill House Edition has been allocated domestically.
Brown-Forman Korea is also running a 200th anniversary promotion in collaboration with Josun Palace. At Josun Palace's "1914 Lounge & Bar," programs are offered to compare tastings of GlenDronach products, including Boynsmill.