GlenDronach Parliament 21 Year

On the first glass I gave it 2.75, defining this whisky as not particularly pleasant. Then I poured the second glass, I forgot it there, and after 15 minutes I drank it. 5.00 ....... Nose: full-bodied, super sherry, toasted wood, caramelized peaches, honey, waffles. Palate: unfortunately drinking it immediately, a hint of damp cork appears to ruin it, reminiscent of a corked wine. I don't know if it's a problem with this single bottle or a characteristic of this whisky, but it ruins everything. Instead, making it breathe like a good wine, this taste disappears and only the exceptional part of the sherry remains! Then sherry, sherry and sherry, candied orange peel, spices, coffee chocolate, slightly pungent. Superb. The finish is bitter with citrus and dark chocolate, quite pungent. If I hadn't inadvertently left it there to breathe for quite a while, I would have stayed at 2.75. It must be understood. Let it breathe before drinking it, you will be thrilled! Conversely, that tip of "corked" ruins everything making it a low-ranking whisky. Ultimately, a fantastic whisky that just needs to be understood, in the top 5 of my whiskys ever. Rating 5.00 __________________________________________________ Al primo bicchiere ho dato 2,75, definendo questo whisky come non particolarmente piacevole. Poi mi sono versato il secondo bicchiere, me lo sono dimenticato lì, e dopo 15 minuti l’ho bevuto. 5,00....... Naso: corposo, super sherry, legno tostato, pesche caramellate, miele, waffle. Palato: purtroppo bevendolo subito a rovinarlo appare una punta di sughero umido che ricorda un vino tappato. Non so se sia un problema di questa singola bottiglia o una caratteristica di questo whisky, ma rovina tutto. Invece, facendolo respirare come un buon vino, questo gusto scompare e rimane solo la parte eccezionale dello sherry! Quindi sherry, sherry e sherry, scorze di arancio candite, spezie, cioccolato al caffè, leggermente pungente. Superbo. Il finale è amarognolo agli agrumi e cioccolato fondente, abbastanza pungente. Se non lo avessi involontariamente lasciato lì a respirare per un bel po’, sarei rimasto a 2,75. Va capito. Lasciatelo respirare prima di berlo, ne resterete entusiasti! Viceversa, quella punta di “tappato” rovina tutto rendendolo un whisky di bassa classifica. In definitiva, un whisky fantastico che va solo capito, nella top 5 dei miei whisky di sempre. Voto 5,00

The nose is moderately rich that starts with a light sourness before fading to a mix of figgy pudding, powdered sugar covered sautéed apples and dusty old leather-bound books then a mild pipe tobacco smoke, cocoa powder dusted prunes and toasted walnuts followed by plums, apricots and mango that transitions to light florals, cloves and black tea leaves with light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium to full mouthfeel starting with slightly sour but creamy tropical fruits that quickly veers towards a mild bitter spice that slowly fades to a spicy mocha, pipe tobacco and dusty leather-bound books then dark chocolate covered toasted walnuts and prunes followed by dehydrated mango, papaya and candied lemon peel that transitions to vanilla seeds, cloves, ginger and light ashy oak spice with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with pipe tobacco, figgy pudding, dehydrated mango, toasted walnuts, espresso, cloves and dusty leather-bound books that lingers for minutes. This is a stunning whisky that balances flavors of old dusty oak, light sherry sour dark berries along with tropical fruits and mild pipe tobacco. The nose balances those flavors perfectly with a moderate richness and minimal alcohol bite before the taste that is just shy of a high viscosity that ever so slightly veers towards a mild bitter profile that quickly fades back to those wonderful, complex flavors found on the nose and finishes along the earthy side with light sour sherry and tropical fruits in the background that is almost eternal in length. At the price of $250, it’s an expensive purchase, but one that I would recommend to anyone to try within their spirits journey either as a bar pour or to take the plunge for that special occasion bottle as I highly doubt this would disappoint anyone. Thanks @ctbeck11 for the generous sample as this one was a real treat.

So now that glendronach is basically a toxic mess, i bought perhaps my one and ONLY 21 year. So neck pour sorta and lets get some thoughts. OK so look...cause glendronach is now all about the whisky look. So it's got good color but no density or particles in. So lets call it a 1 star look. Kinda cheap looking if you will. Nose - Over the tears of whisky drinkers moaning the loss of this distillery, lets try and see get into this nose. OK so that PX candy note is here, it's sticky sweet and I honestly don't enjoy that note. It brings out young whisky notes to me and I have to work through them to get past that first impression. As I do I get cinnamon, nutmeg, a bit of coal, hair of smoke, and this might sound weird but just a cleaner like some kinda fresh springs scent. Ok and some maple and brown sugar with some raisins. Taste - This is where this one shines. It's a full on sherry bomb with everything from PX and oloroso. Dark fruits meet chocolate and oak and chewy candies. Lightly salted elements with hints of peat and smoke. The finish is long as hell and lingering. I'll get back into this and add but my god, this is magical whisky. 2020 bottling so about 25 years old. I have to admit this is just great. 4 stars all day and I'm considering 4.25. I'll have to do a 2020 18 to compare. I bought this at US prices to assure myself a 2020 or later bottling and to avoid the new chill filtered rumors. I also am never buying a bottle from these people without non-chill filtered. And frankly, I might never buy a bottle once that's the norm in my market again. Brands need to stand up and do the right thing in this day and age. If some markets don't get it, then spend money to raise awareness. Don't ruin your reputation.

Ok Ive climbed the ladder. I started with the 12 which is great and probably the best 12 yr sherried scotch. The 15 was even better and tremendous value at $89. The 18 was absolutely divine and the best scotch Ive ever had an easy 5 star. $170 is a lot for most people for a bottle of scotch and stretches the diminishing returns quotient pretty far but I can assure you the 18 yr is worth the $$ if you can swing it. That brings us to the 21 yr Parliament which costs about $ 230(suddenly raised to 280!!!) How in the hell can this be worth that much more than the magnificent 18yr and why should you consider buying it. Well I can give you the cliches like yolo and if you got it spend it which have some truth to them or wouldnt exist and you would think yeah but F this guy its still $230. I waited until end of the bottle to finish reviewing and can now honestly say I would not repurchase this. It is a wonderful sherried scotch. The nose and palate are refined and exquisite with luscious dark red fruits and malt layered with aged leather, dark chocolate and antique wood. Finish is soft and delicate fade like a cotton ball to the cheek. It is a glorious 21 yr scotch any sherryhead will devour. The only issue here is the 18yr is better imo. It has a creamy, heavy rich flavor where the 21 is restrained and flattened . Both are superb but why spend the extra scratch when the 18 just nails it. If utter refinement and babyass smoothness are your endgame then this is for you. Either way you win......95/100

Bottle shared with a small group, and this is possibly the last dram (courtesy of an aged and ore sample). To say the nose draws you in is an understatement...a sweet raisin-forward, but laden with dark fruit, beauty. Plenty of influence from the sherry and some nutty character. Some oaky notes, but they firmly compliment rather than dominate any of the raisin/date/almond-like flavors. While I wouldn't be happy without a sip, just being able to nose this gem is a treat unto itself. Flavor can be described using one word - "elegant". Raisin, figs, dates, brown sugar...this is a refined beauty that is impressive in the sense that a seasoned scotch drinker would appreciate the nuance but a newbie would find this incredibly approachable. In short, this may be the best scotch i've ever sipped, and that's some praise. Somehow, someway, a bottle of this needs to manifest itself on my shelf, because the small sip I used for this rating is already gone as I type this, and that is simply insufficient. Truly a world class pour...

Glendronach 21 rachel non chill 2021~2020 병입  Color: pedro의 영향인지 18년보다 색이 역간 옅다  그래도 18년 이상은 되보이는 전형적인 쉐리의 느낌이 물씬 풍긴다 Nose:빌리의 21년은  파워풀하고 구조적으로 단단하며 rich하다면 rachel의 21년은 은은하고 섬세하며 향이 층층히 양파처럼 벗겨지 듯 complex하다  밸런스가 잘 잡혀있다는 듯 향을 뽐냔다   여성으러운 꾸덕하고 rich한 쉐리가 아닌 structure정도로만 잡아주는 쉐리향이 인상적이다  고숙성에서는 woody함이 진하거나 좀 과하게 올라오는 경우도 있으나 이는 woody와 nutty가 조화롭게 깔리며 힌트를 주며 base line정도로만 서서히 올라온다 쿰쿰한 쉐리의 향도 빌리처럼 과하지 않고 적당한 선을 지키며 마치 스테이크의 소스정도로만 위스키를 해치지 않고 적당하다 정말 밸런스가 훌륭하다  여기서 좀만 더 선보면 맥캘란의 은은 함 이라고 착갈 할 수준이다 햐 정말 쉐리의 쿰쿰함 fungi향이 조화롭다 Palate: 달큰하게 시작하며  끈적한 쉐리가 아닌 적당한 숙성미를 보여주는 피노누아와 같은 쉐리이다 아름답고 elegant한 위스키이다 Woody와 sherry의 조화가 structure를 잡아주며 그 안에 과실향과 spice의 터치감이 아름답다 고숙성 좋은 위스키일 수록 spice의 터치감 그리고 spice의 질 자체가 다르다는 것을 느낀다  Finish: 숙성미를 보여주는 적당한 피니쉬 여성스러운 섬세함 그리고 약간 입 안에 남는 과실향이 인상적이다  정말 쉐리의 woody함 고숙성인데 밸런스 structure적인 면에서 훌륭하다.... 아름답다는 말만 나온다