Glenrothes and sherry


September 12, 2017

Glenrothes and sherry

Glenrothes is classic Speyside whisky, usually very elegant. It’s also one of the first distilleries we collectively visited with the Malt Maniacs. That was a long time ago, when we were all young and beautiful (we’re still young!) So, first a new OB, then a bunch of indies. Classic set-up…

Glenrothes 2000/2017 (58.7%, OB, for the U.K., sherry, cask # 2364)

Ouch, I hadn’t noticed this was a single cask at cask strength. Not the ideal starter-whisky, but it’s already in the glass, so let’s move on if you agree… Colour: golden amber. Nose: so very official Glenrothes! Bags of cakes, roasted nuts, dark honey, Ovaltine, polished wood… But it’s getting rather aggressive, and very eau-de-vie-ish. Raw plum spirit. Maybe that’s the high strength, let’s see… With water: hay, dry old white wine, some metallic touches, some leather, and some burnt caramel. Mouth (neat): hot, very concentrated, very extractive, to the point where it’s getting bitter. Chewing propolis and ultra-strong liquorice while sipping some mad triple-ristretto. Geee! With water: remains hot and wild. Three tablespoons of chestnut honey mixed with pepper and bone-dry cocoa powder. Finish: very long, almost endless, still quite rough and bitter. Comments: quite a monster, its as if they have finished it in three different fresh European oak/fresh sherry octaves. In a row. Not for the fainthearted. SGP:371 - 81 points.

Glen Rothes 18 yo 1997/2016 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Un-chillfiltered Collection, refill sherry, cask #15971)

A little fantasy don’t do any harm, SV are calling their Glenrothes ‘Glen Rothes’. I guess that’s what’s on the papers. Colour: white wine (so very refill). Nose: cleaner and fresher, obviously, but it’s got this metallic grassiness and big notes of green plums. A yeasty side as well, leaven, beer… In short, it’s not a very fruity one. Mouth: smoother this time, rather rounder, with this strong chestnut honey again and a large bag of green(ish) apples. Burnt raisins, malt, bitter chocolate. Really firm, in fact, with similarities to the OB. Finish: long, a bit bitter again, but with nicer notes of oranges, including bitter ones. Orange peel in the aftertaste. Comments: this baby kicks you a bit. I had thought it would be all silk and lace, but it’s actually a little brutal. And good. SGP:461 - 83 points.

Glenrothes 12 yo 2005/2017 (48.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, sherry butt, cask # DL11601, 402 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: some similarities yet again, but this time we’re finding more gunpowder and simply gas, which suggest sulphur, as we all very well know. That combines with a little copper, bitter chocolate powder, and fresh-roasted coffee beans. Few fruits this time again. Mouth: similar feelings. Starts on marmalade, gets then leathery, tobacco-ish, and very chocolaty. The same fresh coffee beans are back as well. Perhaps propolis too, perhaps sulphur as well. Finish: long, gritty, very dry. Dry cocoa and dry coffee, 50/50. Some leather again in the aftertaste, plus cinnamon. A lot of cinnamon. Comments: yet another bone-dry sherried Glenrothes. Really not the easiest dram ever, but some friends will love it. Coffee nuts and chocolate freaks, for example. SGP:361 - 80 points.

Glenrothes 20 yo 1997/2017 (49.8%, Whisky Fair 2017, refill hogshead, 240 bottles)

A refill hoggie, this dark? Sherry hogshead? Colour: amber. Nose: sherry hogshead, I wager. Same bone-dry coffee and chocolate, sulphur, leather, orange peel, cinnamon, slivovitz… Mouth: this one’s sweeter this time, a little easier thanks to more marmalade and plum jam, but other than that, we’ve got the same dry style in the background, with more leather, more tobacco, more coffee, and more bitter cocoa. Now some ripe damsons are starting to bring a little more roundness after a few minutes. The taster just has to be patient. Finish: long, ‘dark’, on pretty much the same notes. Kaffee-Schnapps, would our German friends say. Raisins. Comments: another one that’s not very easy. The sherry’s heavy, so it’s rather for sherry-monster lovers. SGP:461 - 82 points.

Glenrothes 20 yo (51.4%, James MacArthur, Old Masters, Classic Edition, cask #11, 2016)

With a drawing of a lovely Delage 1939. Colour: white wine (hurray!) Nose: ah, some kind of relief! This is much fresher and brighter, with some green apples, some fresh hazelnuts, and a much straighter maltiness than in the others. Greengages, pears, some fresh tree bark, and just wee hints of dried coconut. This works, it’s like listening to Vivaldi after Wagner. With water: gravel and clay, after the rain. Mouth (neat): very good indeed, fresh, with touches of vanilla, green melons, apples, kiwis, rhubarb… Well anything green and fruity. Ah yes, lime. With water: really very good, with good oomph and good zestiness. Cleans your soul after the sherry monsters. Finish: quite long, a tad acidic, which is just what we needed. Comments: very well selected, Arthur! SGP:561 - 87 points.

How about a much older one to close this up?

Glenrothes 33 yo 1967/2000 (48.5%, VA-MA, Italy)

This baby from their famous Castles series. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s rather a ‘crystalline’ one again, in the style of the JMcA, except that a part of the fruits got tropical, which happens quite often with old bottles. Now many tropical fruits were to be found in 1960s distillations, so perhaps a matter of yeast rather than anything else. What were they using? So, mangos, bananas, apples, then a little camphor, menthol cigarettes, leather grease, a few drops of soy sauce, and just one of properly-aged genuine balsamic vinegar. A fantastic nose, I have to say. Mouth: an amazing fruity arrival, with, well, just the same fruits, in the very same proportions. And then come the cough syrup, the mint drops, the pinesap, and superb notes of tangerines. Amazingly fresh, complex, firm and light at the same time. As we sometimes say, it’s dangerously drinkable, but no worries, these bottles are now very hard to find. Finish: medium; perhaps a tad oaky now. A lot of tea. Loses one or two points at this stage. Comments: really amazing. And we’ll have to check which kinds of yeast they were all using in 1964-1967. SGP:651 - 92 points.

(And muchas gracias, Tom)

Check the index of all Glenrothes I've tasted so far