TRULY SINGAPOREAN MAKAN & WHISKY SERIES
GlenDronach Vertical Pairing Lunch
Dear Frenz, and Friends, Saturday March 13th 2021 we resume our Truly Singaporean Makan and Whisky Series. Come celebrate with us on that day! We will be featuring a vertical tasting of the Single Malts from a small highland distillery called GlenDronach (which means the valley of brambles). It is well known for making high quality single malt Whiskies aged solely in Sherry Casks. Rachel Barrie is the distillery's master blender who is passionate in bringing out the very best in the distilling process keeping true to GlenDronach's origins. Here in New Ubin Seafood, we salute Rachel's passion. It resonates with us as we are equally passionate in presenting Truly Singaporean Cuisine. We have carefully crafted a menu that brings out the very best in each of the GlenDronach vintages from its 12, 15, 18, 21 and finally Peated expressions.
ABOUT GLENDRONACH
GlenDronach Distillery
https://www.glendronachdistillery.com///
SHERRY CASK CONNOISSEURS SINCE 1826
Nestled in the valley of Forgue, deep in the East Highland hills, is The GlenDronach, one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, creating the finest richly sherried single malts for nearly 200 years.
The GlenDronach is of true Highland style: a heavy and robust spirit, perfect for a long maturation period in sherry casks. At The GlenDronach Distillery, they have carried forth the tradition of their founder James Allardice since 1826, maturing their whisky in the finest Spanish Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía.
They continue to work towards mastering the art of sherry cask maturation, and their Highland whiskies are recognized for their deep colour and rich flavour profiles, which range from sweet fruity flavours, from the Pedro Ximenez casks they select, to the dry and nutty notes, from superb Oloroso casks. Their well-kept secrets have been guarded for nearly 200 years by a parliament of rooks who love The GlenDronach so much they try to nest in the warehouses. The distillery folk believe as long as the rooks remain at the distillery, it will be good for the whisky.
STANDING THE TEST OF TIME
In 1826 the exuberant and extroverted James Allardice founded the distillery and produced his ‘Guid GlenDronach’ single malt. Down the years, the distillery he created has thrived under the stewardship of far-sighted investors like Walter Scott in 1847 and Captain Charles Grant in 1920. In more recent times, GlenDronach was bought in 1960 by William Teacher & Sons. Originally, all of the workers at GlenDronach lived on site, including the distillery manager, staff, excise man, brewer and all of their families. To this day many of the old houses still remain. The most famous of them all is Glen House, which was built in 1771. Home to many of the distillery’s managers, the grand Georgian building could probably tell a tale or two. Rumour has it; the front room is haunted by a Spanish lady, who travelled over to Scotland in a sherry cask. Apparently she is quite partial to the odd tipple now and then. In 1968, GlenDronach was released as a single malt brand for the first time and the brand’s reputation grew from strength to strength. In 2008, nothing less than a complete renaissance began. The BenRiach Distillery Company became GlenDronach’s proud new owner. While time can never stand still, the commitment of the team at GlenDronach will ensure that the distinctive practices that have always defined the distillery will live on – the most influential of these, its return to independent ownership.
RACHEL BARRIE
Rachel Barrie started her 26 year career in whisky after graduating with a first class honours in chemistry from Edinburgh University. Her first experience of malt whisky began in the Garioch district in Aberdeenshire, where she was born and brought up to appreciate the nuances of the locally distilled malt whisky. Rachel is the Master Blender for The GlenDronach, BenRiach and Glenglassaugh distilleries.
Master blender Rachel Barrie has a wealth of experience in the scotch world—in 2017, Brown-Forman brought her on as the master blender for its scotch portfolio, which includes GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh. Prior to that, Barrie served as master blender at distilleries such as Bowmore, Laphroaig, and Ardmore. This vast experience helps Barrie when crafting the whiskies she currently works with, such as GlenDronach 12 year old, 15 year old, and 18 year old. Barrie presented these whiskies, along with a couple of sherries, on Instagram Live as part of Whisky Advocate’s #TasteWithSpace series on July 31.
GlenDronach’s whiskies are all matured in sherry casks. To better understand the nuances that derive from this style of maturation, Barrie first led a tasting of the two types of sherry that GlenDronach uses—oloroso and Pedro Ximénez. “Sherry was always very enjoyed in Scotland,” Barrie said, while holding a glass of each sherry side by side to highlight the difference in color. “I think the first record was in the 19th century, or even sooner, of people enjoying sherry in Scotland.”
STARTING WITH SHERRY
Barrie went on to explain the difference in the grapes used in the separate sherries—Palomino grapes for the oloroso, and Pedro Ximénez (also called PX) for its eponymous sherry. Starting with the oloroso sherry, Barrie noted stewed grapes and stewed apples, along with a nutty flavor, which stood in contrast from the PX, in which she noted prunes and syrup. The sherry tasting illuminated the flavors that would be found in the whisky, as the 12 and 15 year old expressions are matured in both oloroso and PX casks, and the 18 year old is matured in oloroso casks.
“You’re allowing the whole spectrum, from brambles and oranges right through to the barley spice—even just a tiny bit of tobacco on the tail—to all come over into the spirit, and that’s why the PX and the oloroso casks can bring all of that out to make it shine,” Barrie said as she began her whisky tasting, starting with the GlenDronach 12 year old. She added that GlenDronach uses longer spirit cuts than is typical for single malt scotch, which is what creates such a wide array of flavors to begin with.
As Barrie guided viewers through the three scotches in order of age, she noted the importance of sherry cask maturation to the distillery’s house style. “Having tasted the sherries, and then tasting [the 12 year old], it’s remarkable. This is GlenDronach’s style—this is GlenDronach. This isn’t the sherry talking, this is GlenDronach talking.” Along with the comparative tasting, Barrie answered viewer questions and provided detailed explanations about maturation minutiae, such as the impact of seasonal variation on the whisky’s flavor in cask, and the key characteristics of American, European, and Spanish oak.
Click to view menu and tasting notes
📍 New Ubin Seafood CHIJMES
📅 SATURDAY, 13th of March 2021 12.00pm - 4pm
💵 Early bird price (till 28 feb): $89++ pp (UP:$99++ per pax)
Seats are limited, so reserve yours today!
RSVP at makan@newubinseafood.com or call/whatsapp +65 9740 6870