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On the palate, the whisky has the dried fruit sweetness typical of sherry matured whiskies. There are notes of raisin, prune and apple, candied orange and lemon zest, some peach and tropical fruit flavors, along with anise and spice notes of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. In addition, there are notes of fresh espresso coffee and walnut. A stunning 27-year-old single malt Scotch from The GlenDronach, distilled in 1993 and matured in a single Pedro Ximénez puncheon before bottling in 2020 at a wholesome 51% ABV. In any case, I’m off to buy a 12yo Glendronach. That’s something I didn’t expect to say anytime soon. Thanks, Hamish and Dougie– this deep dive was needed.
This expression is intended to accompany the 2021 release of The King’s Man, the latest movie in the Kingsman series. The whisky is a blend of six barrels that were matured in Oloroso and PX casks that were hand selected by GlenDronach’s Master Distiller Dr. Rachel Barrie and Kingsman series director Matthew Vaughn. Entering the discussion, I couldn’t help but focus on my preconceptions about what this new chill-filtration process entailed. My pre-emptive questions were about why the decision had been made to filter the liquid, who had made that decision, what Brown-Forman was trying to achieve by incorporating such a drastic step, how much it even cost to run one of these machines, and what the impact on the liquid itself would be– a liquid that had built its reputation on natural presentation and incredible taste. A syndicate headed by James Allardes founded the GlenDronach distillery in 1826. The distillery opened and closed various times and at one time or another, was owned by many of the well-known players in the market including Chivas, the Grant Family and Teachers and Sons. Palate: Golden syrup, soft, juicy raisins, tangy oak notes, peach, cherry blossom, cocoa and honeydew melon.Distilled at GlenDronach in 1993, this Highland single malt Scotch was filled into a single Pedro Ximénez puncheon, where it remained for the next 26 years. Bottled in 2020 at a hearty 54% ABV. Glendronach distillery does incorporate a level of filtration. When the casks are vatted and brought together–either under Dr. Rachel Barrie or, previously, Billy Walker – every batch is going to contain some level of flocculation and, indeed, of turbidity. That vatted liquid is then sent down to the bottling line for further inspection by the quality control team, where it is then compared to a base sample of the 12 Year Old. (I’m using the 12-year-old expression as my example for this piece, although the same process is carried out by the team regardless of expression.) If the newly vatted liquid is deemed to have a ‘higher’ level of turbidity than the base sample, it is subjected to filtration. Blade & Bow Helps With Placing Swank In Your Bourbon And Ponies - Tasty Bites Journey on A Bourbon Traveler’s Race Season Guide
If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. This whisky shows that long Sherry cask aging straight away, as a pour of it shows a dull and reddened amber coloring. It’s a look that is quite bourbonesque, in fact. This swish left behind a leggy curtain.
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The 21 Year Old Parliament has a portion of PX Cask matured malt and is sweeter, perhaps more intense as a result. The PX Cask maturation adds a different dimension to the flavour profile too - reminiscent of cognac. GlenDronach has featured extensively on this blog, and not just about how many of their whiskies are older than the age that is mentioned on the label. I’ve reviewed roughly 25 different expressions from GlenDronach, with their 50-year-old being the absolute highlight. But there are many other examples of GlenDronach that I enjoyed at lot ( and some not so much). Glendronach Bottler Distillery Bottling Bottling serie Parliament Stated Age 21 years old Casktype Oloroso & Pedro Ximénez Sherry Strength 48.0 % Vol. Size 700 ml Barcode 5060088793473 Added on 25 mar 2014 6:08 pm by Ras Mazunga
Like all the GlenDronach expressions the whisky has an oily, viscous character with a pronounced palate weight. GlenDronach’s 21 year-old bottling from the official distillery lineup is aged in a combination of PX (Pedro Ximenez) and oloroso sherry casks. (Note that is “aged” not “finished” – this whisky sat for a full 21 years in barrels previously containing sherry.) Hilariously enough in the current political climate, this whisky is not in fact named after the British Parliament, but rather for the “parliament” of rooks that nest in the trees overlooking the distillery. It is bottled at 48% ABV and without chill filtration or added coloring.Overall: If you couldn’t tell from the over-the-top language in the above notes, this is an incredible whisky. One of the best, literally, that I have ever had. It strikes all of the bells for me: Sweet and fruity sherry without being overly resinous or sulfurous. Decadently full flavor without excessive alcohol burn. Mountains of chocolate, to degrees I’ve never experienced in a whisky. It starts confidently, strides across the palate without faltering and finishes with elegance, retaining its integrity. A whole, full, round, complete whisky. Taste: Quite syrupy and obviously rich, meaty almost, but balanced with notes of coffee, cocoa powder and brown sugar. A little less sweet than I remember maybe. Plums, raisins and cinnamon, with finally a whiff of aniseed. The whisky has the characteristic viscosity and palate weight of a sherried whisky. That characteristic seems more pronounced in the older GlenDronach expressions.
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