Bunch of Glenrothes


April 26, 2022

Bunch of Glenrothes
There's plenty, let's have a few.

Glenrothes 11 yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, Discovery, +/-2020)

Sherry. Colour: gold. Nose: barley and brioche, cake, fudge and softly malted beer. A little corn syrup. This is extremely all right. Mouth: very malty, cakey, with a lot of butterscotch, treacle toffee, pudding and roasted walnuts, then cocoa and tobacco. The 43% vol. are working well. Finish: medium, more on chocolate yet, with always this striking maltiness. Honey cake, muscovado, touch of apricot jam and dried dates. Deep-roasted nuts in the aftertaste. Comments: a very malty drop to have in your bar and to pour all friends who would still be wondering about 'what maltiness is'.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Glenrothes 12 yo 2009/2021 (54.7%, Thompson Bros. for Melody Whisky Bar, sherry octave)
No picture I'm afraid but it's probably lovely. The Melody Bar is located in London. Colour: full gold. Nose: big and tight, with some leafy sherry and some soapy stems. Otherwise varnish, cakes and cakes. I'd swear water is needed. With water: beer, ales, cider and walnut wine. Mouth (neat): punchy and butterscotchy. With water: there, we tamed it. Water is totally mandatory or the oak would just lead the pack to the cliff. Loosened-up, suppler, rounder, with more praline, roasted pecans and tobacco. Finish: long, bitterish when unreduced, easier when at some civilised strength. Comments: very good, you just need to work to get it right, as almost always with small-cask operations. I think.
SGP:461 - 83 points.

Secret Speyside 30 yo 1990/2021 (48.5%, WhiskySponge, 2 refill hogsheads, 519 bottles)

When even Glenrothes gets secret, you understand that there's something rotten in the State of Whisky (why be so grandiloquent, S.?) Colour: straw. Nose: it's pure barley with leaves and stems, plus limestone and beer as well as dandelions, wisteria and light honey. Mouth: nicer on the palate, with tighter citrusy notes, bitter herbs and notes of hoppy beer. Apple juice. Finish: medium, malty. Apple crumble and a little bitter caramel. Comments: this one does not look its age. Real good if a bit 'in the middle'.
SGP:451 - 86 points.

Let's double-check that age thing, with another 30…

Glenrothes 30 yo 'Oldest Reserve' (43%, OB, 2012)

This one was said to be 'a blending of whiskies from 1967, 1972, 1977, 1979 and 1980'. Sounds like The Stones' discography, no? An earlier official 30, bottled in 2004 at 50.2%, had been very-good-but-not-great in my book (WF 86). Colour: deepest gold. Nose: we're understanding why this bottling used to come with a very good reputation. Starts with beehive-y notes, especially bags of pollens of all colours, goes on with artisan cider, ends up with many herbal teas and honeys. No, the list would be way too long. Say maple honey and chamomile. Mouth: I was about to say 'Macallany'. Faint smoke, wood, dried fruits (dates, bananas, figs) and some dried meats, jerky, bresaola… A floral side as well, and of course many honeys. Honey is the blood of Earth. Finish: medium and wonderfully floral. Honey, mango jam… Comments: wonderful, a few more percent would have shot it over the 90-mark.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Back to indieland…

Glenrothes 23 yo 1997/2021 (53.2%, Whisky AGE, Hong Kong, hogshead, cask # 715753, 262 bottles)

Quite bizarrely, many 'a little average and large-volume' Speysiders have been very good in 1997. Colour: dark straw. Nose: this one would remind us of those all-natural Glen Grants from similar vintages, with plenty of chalk, lemon, leaven and sourdough, only then fruitier tones, around tangerines and golden delicious. With water: sameish. Even more chalk and quite some grist. Mouth (neat): lovely liquorice wood and star anise at first, that comes unexpected. Then bitters, Aperol spritz (I know), oranges and once more this chalkiness. With water: back on fresh bread, chalk and citrus peel. Finish: rather long, with a lovely bitterness, apple peel, more chalk yet and lemon. Some rounder barley syrup in the aftertaste. Comments: relatively simple, flawless pleasures. I liked this one very much indeed.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

Let's try a younger 1997, just to make sure it's a matter of vintage…

Glenrothes 17 yo 1997/2015 (54.5%, Chapter 7, bourbon hogshead, cask #15721)

Colour: light gold. Nose: this was to be expected, this is almost the same whisky, just a tad chalkier and gristier yet, more on raw barley, with almost no fruits at all. With water: green apples, cider apples… Bites your nose a wee bit but that's not an unpleasant feeling at all. Mouth (neat): same. Chalky citrus and a little beeswax. With water: waxes a tad up. Finish: rather long, tight, chalky and tart. Comments: zesty and refreshing. Excellent drop, once more – dear old hogsheads!
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Another try at that vintage…

Glenrothes 22 yo 1997/2019 (57.6%, Sansibar Clans, Whisky Maniac, sherry cask, 238 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: same as the Chapter 7, more or less. Rather more than less. Mouth: same, perhaps a notch rounder, ,with hints of raisins, perhaps. Finish: same. Comments: all right, this one was just excellent too. And they would swim like Olympic athletes – or Russian sailors. Another great natural drop, with very moderate sherry impact.
SGP:561 - 86 points.

We've still got terrifying amounts of Glenrothes Cadenhead yet to taste. Such as this other 1997…

Glenrothes-Glenlivet 21 yo 1997/2019 (57.1%, Cadenhead, Sherry Cask, sherry butt, 510 bottles)

This one was fully matured in sherry, it's not just a quick, lousy, depressing finishing as seen elsewhere. Colour: gold. Nose: an official indie. I mean, it's an indie that's got all the attributes of the best officials, especially roasted nuts and malty beers. Lovely! With water: two or three struck matches, some coffee and some chocolate, the tiniest touch of tarmac… Mouth (neat): excellently sherried, with some marmalade, touches of ginger and turmeric, many nougats, millionaire shortbread and Mars bars, chocolate, chestnut cream… You could really believe this is an official 20-something. With water: chocolaty marmalade, Jaffa cake… Great drop. Finish: long, with a few typical 'whisky spices', cloves, cinnamon, juniper, pepper… And a lot of chocolate. Marmalade in the aftertaste. Comments: no innovation here, this is ultra-classic. Innovation in whisky? You go first…
SGP:551 - 87 points.

Glenrothes 26 yo 1990/2017 (52.4%, Signatory Vintage, hogshead, cask #19019, 255 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: this one's much waxier again, more honeyed as well, with more pollen and honeys. Golden Grahams, pancake sauce and nougat. I can't see who wouldn't like this, perhaps perverts? With water: it's got Meursaulty. Also some weissbeer and just fresh panettone. Panettone, back on WF! Mouth (neat): deep syrups! Peach, apricot, pineapple, greengages, tangerines… With water: more preserved fruits, syrups and fruit salads. This one's extremely easy, extremely good. Fruit Loops. Finish: medium, fresh, very fruity. Jams and syrups. Comments: on the easier side. As good as they get.
SGP:641 - 88 points.

I'd like to try a young one now, to find more knack and fights…

Glenrothes 11 yo 2009/2021 (53.5%, Maltbarn, sherry cask, 165 bottles)

Maltbarn's labels are always very beautiful, with always some un-plundered, fully original artwork. Colour: light gold. Nose: modern, active wood. Vanilla and butterscotch, white nougat and popcorn, maple syrup, milk jam and Ovaltine/Ovomaltine. With water: same, plus genuine Alsatian kougelhopf. Mouth (neat): excellent. Tighter, yet with tons of butterscotch and rice pudding. With water: oranges popping out. Triple-sec, proper curaçao, plus madeleines and cassata… Nothing is not to be liked here. Finish: medium, cakey. Awesome fudges and Walker's cookies. Comments: uncomplex, appealing (we would have written 'sexy' in the old Jim days), excellent. It's hard to make them better at just 11, I would suppose.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Glenrothes-Glenlivet 24 yo 1994/2019 (47%, Cadenhead, Sherry Cask, sherry hogshead)

This one's a finishing, it only spent from 2015 to 2019 in sherry wood. It is cask strength, no reductions have taken place. Colour: full gold. Nose: four years in sherry is already quite a lot and that feels. All is fine here, Ovaltine is back, praline, macchiato, a drop of soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, cocoa, a little pipe tobacco, cigars… In short, all is well. Mouth: very good for sure but perhaps a tad more disjointed, with notes of orange squash and a grittier gingerness. Lovely chocolate, though. Finish: pretty long, saltier, meatier. Peking duck and then Maggi and Guinness in the aftertaste. Comments: another one that I enjoyed a lot, it was just a tad more adventurous (shall we say).
SGP:362 - 85 points.

Let's find a fully 'white' one and we're done.

Glenrothes-Glenlivet 17 yo 2001/2018 (53.2%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 276 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: back on lees, sauvignon blanc, lemon and apple peel, chalk, aspirin, grist, porridge… I mean, you see… With water: mercurochrome and crazy artisan cider. Watch your teeth. Mouth (neat): barley eau-de-vie, melon liqueur, Williams pear, green apples and just grass… This one's pretty raw and rough. Possibly fourth fill or something. With water: sweet barley in majesty, plus ripe apples and pears. Finish: medium, with a little sugar beyond the overripe apples. Comments: in truth it was a little too 'naked', perhaps a little too young given the obvious laziness of the cask. Still a very fine dram, with good barley sweetness.
SGP:641 - 83 points.

Glenrothes 21 yo 1997/2019 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Un-chillfiltered Collection, casks #4826 + 4827)

Colour: golden straw. Nose: very soft, on sweet malt, apple juice, brioche and popcorn. Pear cake. Mouth: no literature needed here (literature, yeah right). Sweet maltiness, roasted nuts, some sour cake (battelman, perhaps) and croissants. And Danishes. Finish: medium, on apple cake and a little burnt sugar and nuts. Demerara sugar. Maltier, almost stouty aftertaste, with some pepper too. Comments: we knew this would just very good, like most whiskies in this lovely un-pumped-up collection from Signatory's.
SGP:541 - 84 points.

I've just counted them, that's thirteen Glenrothes, that's too much already. See you, cheers…

(Merci Ryan and Wouter)

Check the index of all Glenfarclas we've tasted so far