Pedro Ximenez

A buddy of mine from work went on a weekend trip and ended up going through a London Duty Free Store. Before leaving on the trip, he did what any awesome guy would do for a friend and asked me if I wanted anything in particular from the DFS. I said, “As a matter of fact I do!” and then proceeded to ask him for a Ballantine’s 30 year blend. The next time I see him, I’m anxious for the bottle to taste and review it. He says, “[Scotch] I had to pull an audible..” Okay okay, he didn’t call me [Scotch], but that’d be awesome! Anyhow, He continued and said, “The duty free guy said that this would be better, cost a little more, but you’d like it more.” I could see the worry in his face and being the awesome guy that he is, he’d already figured out a plan to split the bottle with me to cover the extra cost. I said, “Naw man, anything for our readers!!” Without any further ado, and anymore lengthening of this post, let’s see how it goes!

C: Our regular readers will know how we feel about color, but this is a Cherry Wood with darker edges.

N: The nose is incredible. I poured a glass and was occupied doing other things before I could try it, so it sat around for 5-10 minutes opening up. The air around the glass is filled with the scent of raw walnuts and thick toffee pudding. The Pedro Ximenez influence is easily recognizable in just the nose alone. It’s dusty, like an attic, and fairly smoky in the nose for a non-Islay variety. There’s dark chocolate candy bar as well as cocoa powder, dried figs and it’s like sticking your face into a bag of dried prunes, just sticky all over. A kola smell comes forward and near the end of my nosing a faint lemon smell, as if someone spritzed a lemon over a cocktail. This nose is layered and rich. My mouth is water because the nose is giving every indication that it’s going to be delicious. Cinnamon raisin bread covered in a smoked prune jam. I don’t even think smoked prune jam is a thing but this is it. Bitter orange marmalade. Okay I think I’m done. Quince paste. Done.

P: First sip is creamy, mouth coating and very savory. Almost a bready savory. Immediately I wish that the ABV would have been pumped up from the very basic 40%. But saying that, it does carry a lot of flavor. Second sip, everything continues to remain enjoyable. There’s a wonderful savory spice that undulates with spicy, then savory, then dried sweet flavors. Again and again layers of bran muffin, including the raisins, hearty grains covered in a sweetener that isn’t too sweet. You know how some people say that scallops can be sweet or milk added to your coffee can be sweet. Sweet like that. A very savory sweet. Rich malt, black strap molasses. Going in for another sip maple syrup covered French toast, with too much cinnamon (still good though). The dustiness from the nose carries over to the palate a little, you can definitely taste the age, not a bad thing, just apparent.

F: The finish is mouth watering, no dryness whatsoever. The bready, wheat filled flavor lingers, like you just bit into a piece of wholegrain bread. A very faint soft smoke lingers in the background. The spices are subdued in the finish but very rich and not watered down. This whisky just drinks so easily.

With single malts, you sometimes have specific characteristics that you particularly enjoy. Tamdhu has an amazing sherry flavor, Laphroaig will smoke you out with peat and Glenfarclas will spice you up like Christmas morning. The thing with these older blends is that there are no peaks or specific characteristics, that’s the essence of blending. Like the Hibiki 30 year, this Dewars 30 year is an exceptional blend, and drinks like water. The nose is rich with individual layers. The palate is round, well blended and just plain delicious.

[Scotch]

GlenDronach 21 Parliament

COLOR: The color is a dark amber or medium grade B maple syrup

NOSE: 21 years of sitting in Oloroso and PX casks have done wonders for this single malt. Who knew something so dark could smell and taste so fruity, rich and spicy. Brown sugar blasts through, dragging sugar in the raw with it, caramelizing on your tongue to a rich and crunchy English toffee. The brightness of Pink lady apples and tart dark cherries snaps like a SlimJim in your nose. And this is all before you even take a sip. Take a moment to let the spirit breathe and fill the room and no doubt you’ll nose the heather off in the distance and the whiffs of tobacco leaves being dried, not smoked. Add a few drops of water and the red fruits get accentuated and then coated with sticky caramel and toffee pudding. If you don’t understand what I mean, It’s rich, rich, rich in the nose.

PALATE: The first thing I taste is the delicious fruitiness and the roundness of the two sherries. A slight smokiness or old wood flavor pushes its way through, possibly from the Pedro Ximenez influence. Even at 48% abv, I could drink this neat all day…I would be passed out with possibly less clothes on, but it’s definitely a slow easy drinker. There’s a lot of nuttiness and baking spices, like someone just baked a “fresh out of the oven” minced meat pie but added toasted hazelnuts, just because. The addition of a few drops of water increases the sweetness on the tongue and boosts the nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom spices deliciously.

FINISH: The finish is long and lasting and utterly balanced. I did experience some mid-palate astringency, but that was easily forgotten with another delicious sip.

Many of the 21 year old single malts that I’ve tasted felt light on the tongue and aren’t as rich as I’d like them to be. Enter GlenDronach 21. This single malt maintains the heavyweight feel and richness that I have looked for, all while balancing toasty oak, baking spices and sweetness. Definitely one to look out for or order, if you can find it for less than $150.

Scotch Out.

Slainte Mhath!