Birthday Drinks (Part 2) - Glendronach 21, Glenfarclas 40 Family Cask for Silver Seal, Highland Park 18

Three whiskies tasted at the Auld Alliance. Seriously, go check out their whisky selection. It's crazy the amount of stuff they have in there. Some really interesting independent bottlings and limited edition ones as well. This session was a couple of days ago. Let's hope my notes are sufficient to jog my memory.

The three new ones are the Highland Park 18, Glendronach 21, and the Glenfarclas Family Cask, which was about 40 years old, but I'm not sure which vintage it came from. Too excited about the drink to check the years. But it might have been the 1971/2011 vintage, bottled for The Whisky Shop Dufftown, since I remember the abv of the one we had that night to be about 51%. (Edit: It's the Family Cask for Silver Seal Glenfarclas 40 1971, bottled at 52% abv)

Note that I don't mention the colour for many of my posts. This is because, often, I drink my whiskies in places where lighting isn't the best. Since I'm not going to be able to even see the colour accurately, much less describe it, I usually skip it altogether.

Highland Park 18 - (43% abv)

Nose - Fresh ad grassy. A lot of oranges in this one. This is the first Highland Park I've ever tasted, but the big oranges seems to be in agreement with a few other whisky blogs out there. There's a hint of smoke in this one, and some rubber and tar.

Palate - Oranges, definitely. A bit of raisins and rubber. Does Highland Park use sherry casks? There's a touch of peat. The grass from the nose returns. The middle of the palate is drying on tea tannins. There's strong suggestions of honey too. On the whole, it's a little prickly, but fairly smooth.

Finish - A little bitter. Feels like burnt sugar and tea rolled into one. A bit of caramel, it seems. The finish is generally short, but the tannins last.

Overall, pretty good! Won't be the last Highland Park I try.

Glendronach 21 Parliament (48% abv)

Nose - Rich raisins, like the 18. Prunes. Seems like a more mature, riper version of the 18. Some fresh cut grass, which came as a pleasant surprise. Oak, and light vanilla.

Palate - Rather oily texture, and a bit of alcohol sting, but that goes away quickly. Raisins and grape seed tannins. Or maybe that's grape skin. Oak, vanilla.  A touch of something darker, like chocolate, but not quite. Honey too. A sweet whisky, this one.

Finish - Lingering grape tannins, like that you find in a good wine. A touch of spice, and some vanilla. Not so long, lest it becomes cloying.

Not very expensive, considering its age. I saw a bottle at Auld Alliance for just over $200.

 Glenfarclas Family Cask

Nose - Sherry. Grass. Vanilla that borders on icing sugar. Held together in a fine balance by a rich oak of the highest quality. The oak adds character and balance without dominating the nose. Very nicely done. A sherried whisky of the top quality, from the nose alone.

Palate - Amazing. Gives the Balvenie 30 a run for its money (and probably winning the race too, in my opinion). Light peat and grass o entry. The sherry then shows its power, building in rich sherry flavours. Just before it becomes sweet, the whisky turns to a slightly bitter touch. Feels like the dried orange peel that my mum used to tell me was a healthy snack. Vanilla too. A very rich and well-layered sherried whisky. Much deeper in complexity when compared to the Glendronach 21. The extra years weren't wasted. Must have been an amazing cask to give so much flavour.

Finish - Light spice, vanilla. Light peat. And then a small burst of eucalyptus and menthol at the back of the throat. Delightful.

At $100 a glass, this one is worth a try on a special occasion.