The Forgue by GlenDronach 10 takes its name from the small Aberdeenshire valley where the distillery has quietly worked for nearly two centuries. Forgue is not a widely known name outside whisky circles — it does not carry the mythology of Speyside's great rivers or Islay's wind-blown coast — but it is where GlenDronach was founded in 1826, and naming a whisky after the place is a small act of loyalty to that history.
As a ten-year-old at 43 per cent, the Forgue 10 sits in a useful gap in the range. It is older and more resolved than the 8 Year Old Hielan, while prefiguring the Original 12 without quite matching its depth, and it is the kind of bottling one keeps on the shelf for guests who want to understand what sherried Highland whisky tastes like without too much preamble. The nose is honeyed and approachable: raisin, baked apple, almond paste, and brown sugar, with the sherry influence present but unhurried.
On the palate the whisky shows sultana, candied orange, and milk chocolate, with toasted walnut underneath and a light spicing of cinnamon and clove. The texture is clean rather than oily, and the sweetness never tips into heaviness. It is a whisky that invites a second glass rather than a long contemplative one.
The finish is medium and warming, with dried fruit and a touch of oaky dryness. As an introduction to the GlenDronach style — or simply as an everyday sherried dram — the Forgue 10 does its work plainly and well. It will not surprise you, but it will not disappoint you either, and for the price that is an honest bargain.
