Hi,
We've just cleared out my late father's home and found an unopened bottle of Glendronach 15yr aged whisky. I've no idea how long he had it but I have a few questions I'd like to ask you experts please:
1.) I was thinking of having this as a way of toasting my late father on his birthdays and at Xmas times. Once it is opened should it really be consumed within a set time?
2.) There is sediment or something in the bottom of the bottle which resembles bristles from a toothbrush. Do you know what those might be and whether it means the whisky is still ok?
Many thanks.
First of all, I am sorry to hear about your father. He must have been a man with great taste!
Glendronach is a favorite with scotch fans. What makes the 15 yr special is that the distillery has stopped production of the 15 year (at least for a couple of years) due to high demand and short supply.
Before you open it, it might be best to see a picture of it first. Glendronach has been around for a while, and if you don't know how long he has had it, it might be valuable if it's old enough. As far as your questions are concerned...
1) Opened bottles of whisky are good for years. As long as the cork is good, a closed bottle is good indefinitely. You'll be fine if you have two glasses a year. Once there is only a quarter of a bottle left, I would personally try to finish the bottle within the next six months or so, as the whisky oxidizes.
2) Glendronach does not chill-filter their whisky. The residue might be oils or remnants of the cask. There shouldn't be anything to worry about.
Thanks for your condolences and the info. I've added a picture of the sediment and of the whole bottle which will hopefully be clear enough for your review.
And that's why I asked for a picture; I had a hunch it might have been an older bottle. You have a special bottle on your hands, my friend!
So that particular bottling is from the 90's (I believe), which would make it more rare, especially seeing how it's a 1 liter bottle, as opposed to the traditional 70cl bottle. Here is what the current glendronach 15 bottle looks like:
If you aren't a big whisky drinker, you might want to consider keeping it closed. The bottle you have is auctioning for over $200, and its value will only go up as the years go by.
Those are some pretty large sediment deposits in the bottle...they almost look like scratches on the glass. I don't think they are pieces of cork, so I still believe it might be pieces of the cask. It should still be fine to drink, though, if you want to open the bottle.
Just to be safe, you could slowly pour the scotch through a coffee filter into the glass you plan to drink from. Seeing how the sediment has sunk to the bottom of the bottle, you probably won't have to ]do that until the bottle is almost empty.
Thanks for this info and suggestion. I now face a bit of a dilemma it seems. I think my dad would say "Whisky's for drinking. Simple." and it would be nice to use it to raise a glass in his memory twice a year but then again maybe I'll save it for a later date, check the value of it then and base my final decision accordingly.
Incidentally, are you able to point me in the direction of where one can buy & sell whiskys please?
Well... I took the decision to open it at Christmas but I was presented with a series of challenges that would have had father dearest in tears of laughter.
First off the tear strip in the foil cap-cover broke off straight away so I had to wiggle a fork prong in the tiny hole that was left and tear the foil that way. Whilst taking it off I got a glimpse of what my next challenge might be when I noticed the cork stopper move in a manner that was not conducive to it being a firm and sound fit.
Sure enough when I gripped the stopper gently and lifted with a slight twist of the wrist the top part came away whilst the rest of the cork remained resolutely in the neck of the bottle! I could tell by the colour of the cork that it had begun to perish and was no doubt very soft. So, with the precision and care of a bomb disposal expert, I placed my trusty cork screw on the bottle and gently screwed it into the cork which offered virtually no resistance. Thankfully I was able to tease the broken off cork out without any dropping into the bottle.
Phew. The old man really made me work for it (hence why I know he would have been laughing, as was his sense of humour) but it was worth it. A very warm and full of flavour dram indeed.
The kind folks of Glendronach have sent me a replacement stopper as well so no more dramas when I next open it in 2 days time for what would have been my father's birthday.
its a good idea to retain the stoppers from empties bottles in case such occasion arises, and most bottles of the same brand or series would use the same sized stoppers.
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Hi,
We've just cleared out my late father's home and found an unopened bottle of Glendronach 15yr aged whisky. I've no idea how long he had it but I have a few questions I'd like to ask you experts please:
1.) I was thinking of having this as a way of toasting my late father on his birthdays and at Xmas times. Once it is opened should it really be consumed within a set time?
2.) There is sediment or something in the bottom of the bottle which resembles bristles from a toothbrush. Do you know what those might be and whether it means the whisky is still ok?
Many thanks.
@vroom6sri
First of all, I am sorry to hear about your father. He must have been a man with great taste!
Glendronach is a favorite with scotch fans. What makes the 15 yr special is that the distillery has stopped production of the 15 year (at least for a couple of years) due to high demand and short supply.
Before you open it, it might be best to see a picture of it first. Glendronach has been around for a while, and if you don't know how long he has had it, it might be valuable if it's old enough. As far as your questions are concerned...
1) Opened bottles of whisky are good for years. As long as the cork is good, a closed bottle is good indefinitely. You'll be fine if you have two glasses a year. Once there is only a quarter of a bottle left, I would personally try to finish the bottle within the next six months or so, as the whisky oxidizes.
2) Glendronach does not chill-filter their whisky. The residue might be oils or remnants of the cask. There shouldn't be anything to worry about.
And that's why I asked for a picture; I had a hunch it might have been an older bottle. You have a special bottle on your hands, my friend!
So that particular bottling is from the 90's (I believe), which would make it more rare, especially seeing how it's a 1 liter bottle, as opposed to the traditional 70cl bottle. Here is what the current glendronach 15 bottle looks like:
If you aren't a big whisky drinker, you might want to consider keeping it closed. The bottle you have is auctioning for over $200, and its value will only go up as the years go by.
Those are some pretty large sediment deposits in the bottle...they almost look like scratches on the glass. I don't think they are pieces of cork, so I still believe it might be pieces of the cask. It should still be fine to drink, though, if you want to open the bottle.
Just to be safe, you could slowly pour the scotch through a coffee filter into the glass you plan to drink from. Seeing how the sediment has sunk to the bottom of the bottle, you probably won't have to ]do that until the bottle is almost empty.
@kroman Wow!
Thanks for this info and suggestion. I now face a bit of a dilemma it seems. I think my dad would say "Whisky's for drinking. Simple." and it would be nice to use it to raise a glass in his memory twice a year but then again maybe I'll save it for a later date, check the value of it then and base my final decision accordingly.
Incidentally, are you able to point me in the direction of where one can buy & sell whiskys please?
Well... I took the decision to open it at Christmas but I was presented with a series of challenges that would have had father dearest in tears of laughter.
First off the tear strip in the foil cap-cover broke off straight away so I had to wiggle a fork prong in the tiny hole that was left and tear the foil that way. Whilst taking it off I got a glimpse of what my next challenge might be when I noticed the cork stopper move in a manner that was not conducive to it being a firm and sound fit.
Sure enough when I gripped the stopper gently and lifted with a slight twist of the wrist the top part came away whilst the rest of the cork remained resolutely in the neck of the bottle! I could tell by the colour of the cork that it had begun to perish and was no doubt very soft. So, with the precision and care of a bomb disposal expert, I placed my trusty cork screw on the bottle and gently screwed it into the cork which offered virtually no resistance. Thankfully I was able to tease the broken off cork out without any dropping into the bottle.
Phew. The old man really made me work for it (hence why I know he would have been laughing, as was his sense of humour) but it was worth it. A very warm and full of flavour dram indeed.
The kind folks of Glendronach have sent me a replacement stopper as well so no more dramas when I next open it in 2 days time for what would have been my father's birthday.
Thanks again for your info.
@vroom6sri Congratulations on your victory lol
its a good idea to retain the stoppers from empties bottles in case such occasion arises, and most bottles of the same brand or series would use the same sized stoppers.