GlenDronach / 21 Year Old / Parliament 5cl / 48% Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery Bottling Un-chillfiltered, Natural Color. Named for the Parliament of rooks that live in the trees near the distillery. A tasty combination of sherry matured whiskies, both Oloroso and PX, perfect for sherry-heads The whisky is matured in a combination of Oloroso Sherry casks and Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks. The Parliament name comes from the colony of rooks that lived in the trees around the Glendronach distillery for almost 200 yearsGlenDronach distillery The Highland Distillery GlenDronach is one of Scotland's oldest, and it can draw an intriguing historical line to the very first licenses issued for legal distilling in the Highlands. Among the founders of Glendronach was James Allardice, who was a protégé of the nobleman directly responsible for the legislation in 1823. GlenDronach was built a few years later in 1825 just outside the town of Huntly. Since then, the distillery has been burned down, changed hands numerous times and capacity has been expanded. GlenDronach was among the last to stop floor malting and was the very last Scottish distillery to abolish direct heating of the boilers with coal.
GlenDronach However, it was among the very first distilleries to market the types of casks used to age the whisky, and it was also among the first to open its doors to the public by establishing a visitor centre on the distillery grounds in 1973. Although GlenDronach is one of the largest in the Scotch whisky industry in terms of quality, in terms of capacity it is one of the smallest. The maximum annual capacity is only around 1.4 million liters. liters.GlenDronach - the sleeping giant. In terms of quality, GlenDronach is a sleeping giant. Most whisky fans agree that a more determined effort from the previous owners would have made GlenDronach one of the best-known distilleries in Scotland. Today, GlenDroncah is best known to whisky enthusiasts around the world. As in many similar situations, the previous owners never had a grand vision for the distillery. The malts from here were merely intended as semi-finished products for the owners' blended brands. However, after decades of delay, the time has now come for GlenDronach to take a position among the very best and most revered single malts in Scotland. The current owner - Billy Walker - has not only taken over a fantastically well-tuned - and in the best sense - an old-fashioned, traditional and beautiful production facility, but also a stock of old malt whisky that is truly unique. The warehouses at GlenDronach house a myriad of interesting casks. Sherry butts, sherry puncheons, hogsheads and quarter casks galore. There is real potential for many exciting bottlings in the coming years. Tasting NotesThe oldest of Glendronach´s summer release of wine finishes, this 20yo has been given a second ageing period in tawny port casks after initial maturation in European oak. This second maturation has contributed extra depth and concentrated stewed fruit flavours. From its hillside home in the Scottish Highlands, The GlenDronach Distillery has been creating the finest richly sherried single malts for nearly 200 years. In 1826 the exuberant and extroverted James Allardice founded the distillery and produced his 'Guid GlenDronach' single malt. Down the years, the distillery he created has thrived under the stewardship of far-sighted investors like Walter Scott in 1847 and Captain Charles Grant in 1920. In more recent times, GlenDronach was bought in 1960 by William Teacher & Sons. But in 2008, nothing less than a complete renaissance began. The BenRiach Distillery Company became GlenDronach's proud new owner. While time can never stand still, the commitment of the team at GlenDronach will ensure that the distinctive practices that have always defined the distillery will live on - the most influential of these, its return to independent ownership. James Allardice & His 'Guid GlenDronach' You are probably wondering how it all began, so let us start at the beginning on a chilly winters night in 1826... Hidden within the valley of Forgue, deep within the Scottish Highlands, a plume of smoke ascends from the chimney of a grand country house, Glen House. The smell of peat from a large crackling fire fills the drawing room, and there sits James Allardice, feet up, with a dram of a whisky that he'd spent quite some time making. He was feeling quite cheery with the results of his new creation, which he had decided to call... GlenDronach. His next challenge was to sell his stock, so there he sat, pondering on what would be his best plan. James was up with the birds the following morning and set out with a spring in his step for the capital, with a large barrel and flagon in tow. But on arrival in Edinburgh, he discovered that selling GlenDronach was going to be trickier than he first thought. "We already have our stock for the season," the landlords all said, "but we'll bear you in mind for next year." Ladies of the Night After only selling a trickle, a disheartened Allardice wanders back to his hotel, ready to admit defeat. But, walking up the Canongate, he is accosted by two young ladies of the night who want him to take them... for a drink.
James tells the women that he has his very own 'Guid GlenDronach' whisky that they can sup on, and so he returns to his hotel room, to the mortification of the hotel staff, with the two ladies on each arm!The following day, word of mouth spread like wildfire about the previous nights shenanigans and the two women return for another bottle of GlenDronach to share with their friends. James had pretty much given up on his abortive sales drive in Edinburgh and had planned to return home, so he gave the women the remainder of his flagon.The 'Guid GlenDronach' Later that afternoon, the street was full of women who had consumed one drop too many. This got the neighborhood talking and everyone became curious to try some of what the ladies were drinking. So they started requesting GlenDronach by name when they went into their local pubs. As the story goes, James did not return home as planned the following day. Instead, he stayed a while in Edinburgh where he sold all of his stock. Not long after, bottles could be found in every pub along the Royal Mile. GlenDronach had arrived!
