GlenDronach Parliament 21 Year

Everything starts and ends with sherry and It’s strong but well integrated. Some woody spices and feels premium enough

In the nose odors of rum-grapes and vanilla, on the palate long lasting aromas of vanilla, oak, and a slight hint of peaches

Mother of God. I'd wager that for most of our whisky drinking experience, we come across pours where we think, "Oh, that's nice. I might buy a bottle" or "That was ok, but I'll skip a purchase" or maybe even "Holy shit, that's awful. Who made this?!", but rarely am I left dumbfounded at how mesmerizing something is that makes time stand still and all I can think of is "Mother of God...". It's no secret that I'm a Glendronach fanboy. I continue to hunt down their various expressions like a kid completing his set of baseball cards. I like the integrity of their bottlings, the distillery character (and characters...), and the commitment to exclusive sherry maturation. Each successive expression I've tried has something wonderful to offer, which culminates in this 21 (ish) year old masterpiece. Back in the 80's when Transformers was still a new thing, there were a set of robots that each had their own powers, but they were also able to combine to form a super-Autobot of sorts to create a hero that was greater than the sum of their parts. My experience with this whisky was the same. I get the robust quality of the GD spirit from the 8 year old Hielen, the youthful exuberance and approachability of the 12 year old Original, the spicy, sticky Christmasy quality of the new 15 year Revival (the Revival Revival?), the penetrating, old oak of the 18 year Allardice. Somehow, inexplicably, these flavors happen all at once in the 21 year; a sum of the best of GD's other core offerings, culminating in an experience that can only lead to me expressing "Mother of God...". I'll go easy on the tasting notes. This one is best experienced for yourself. I may have overpaid for this, but I'm not concerned at this point. This is far and away the best whisky on my shelf, and quite honestly, the price point stands up when you compare it to other popular 21 year olds (cough, Macallan, cough, Balvenie). Pull the trigger and see for yourself, and yes, I think this is better than the "old" 18 year bottlings, which to be fair, are fantastic in their own right (gave it a 4.75 myself), but this one takes the experience to a whole new level for me. Post in the comments below what whisk(e)y gave you that "Holy shit, now this is whisk(e)y!!!" moment in your journey, and if you haven't arrived there yet, I hope you do soon. Cheers.

Smells like honey, syrup, maybe even chocolate. Sweet. Initial mouth is smooth and will burn you , but the burn is not unpleasant and does not last long. After taste is a hint of the same fragrance from the first nose.