Generously_Paul
GlenDronach Parliament 21 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
October 22, 2018 (edited August 31, 2020)
Checking my notes and it’s been 3 weeks since my last review. A combination of weddings, family events, a cold and trying to work through some of my open bottles sidelined me. Plus ever since the SDT ended I just don’t feel the pressure to pound out samples 4-5 nights a week. Anyways, on to the whisky du jour. GlenDronach Parliament 21 year old. Why it’s called Parliament I have no idea, and honestly I don’t care, because it’s wonderful. Matured in a combination of PX and Oloroso sherry casks, bottled at the 48% ABV sweet spot, non chill filtered and natural color of a nice mahogany.
The nose is all sweet savory sherry with soft sherried fruits. Berries, plums, dates, apricots and raisins. Oranges dusted with cocoa powder, pecans, Brazil nuts and cola. Warm pecan pie, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. There was a note of something like citronella or furniture polish, but it was brief and not really a bad thing when it was there. Some light oak, pancake syrup, chocolate pudding, chocolate licorice (yes those are two distinct chocolate smells), and vanilla.
As an experiment I added a bit of water even though I don’t think any was needed. Everything was softened and nothing additional was brought out except a little more oak, hazelnuts and a bit of a soapy note.
The palate starts with gentle baking spices at first, then they build in intensity and the signature GlenDronach spice profile is revealed. A bit earthy with mild ginger root, nutmeg and allspice. Nutty sherry - walnuts, pecans and hazelnut. Polished oak with some slightly bitter tannins. Raisins, dates and some bitter dark chocolate.
Water does very little except bring down some of the bitterness (even though there wasn’t much there to begin with).
A medium bodied mouthfeel that is creamy and silky smooth.
The finish is medium length with sherry, chocolate, nutty with some tannins.
This is a wonderfully matured highland single malt. A very elegant yet easily approachable profile. Both the PX and Oloroso casks show their influence here. This is every bit as good as the 18 year old, but not so good that it justifies the much higher price tag. Speaking of price, here in Michigan this bottle goes for a whopping $250. At that price there is no way I would have bought a bottle. Instead I got this from Master of Malt for $117, plus shipping. True it was only a 700mL bottle vs the 750 I would have gotten here in the States, but those 50 extra mL’s are not worth the extra $100 or so. I won’t be restocking this bottle as I have so many more to get to, but I recommend it to sherry lovers out there. 4.5
Cheers
120.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@Generously_Paul makes me wonder—why not just label it and charge higher?
@PBMichiganWolverine it’s because GlenDronach was mothballed for a few years, so anything released after they resumed operations would have to be from older stock. 1996-2001 they were closed. So there is no way that they would have 21 year old stock. Anything made after they reopened would be a maximum of 17 years old. So to bottle a 21 year old they would have to go back to 96 at the earliest to pull stock mature enough to be labeled 21 years old. So in reality a 21 bottled today would, at the youngest, be in fact a 22 year old if all of the casks used were distilled in 96. Extrapolating that, in 3 years the youngest component would be 25 years old. After 2022 they will have 21 year old stock from after they reopened
@Generously_Paul so they’re bottling older bottles and labeling as a few years younger? Why?
@Rick_M luckily mine stayed in my sinuses and never made it into my chest. That would have added a few weeks of misery
@cascode if you wait another few years (assuming it hasn’t been discontinued by then) it will be more like a 26 year old due to the mothballed years
@Generously_Paul I've only tasted this once and at the time I thought it was generally just "meh" and certainly overpriced. Maybe it was the sample - I'll have to try it again.
@Generously_Paul - you and I may be the only 2 people on earth that has a cold right now. What’s up with that?