Glenrothes 25 Year Old

The Glenrothes 25 years old is a limited expression originally destined for travel retail but as often it also appeared in regular stores. Although the yield was quite low, bottles are still found here and there.

Glenrothes 25yo is a marriage of casks from 1979 as well as other years: 1967, 1972, 1977 and 1980. All these years have brought us excellent vintages from this distillery, so the marriage should be good as well.

It won the World Whiskies Award 2008 for Best New Release.

Nose: really fruity, with lots of oranges, peaches, juicy plums and even strawberries. Hints of vanilla cake, barley and soft spices (pepper, ginger). A bit of bergamot honey and almonds. Leather. Rich and balanced with muted cedar wood and even a hint of smoke. Quite typical and you can tell that there’s very old whisky in there.

Mouth: a drier mixture of fruits (mainly oranges now) and spices (vanilla, nutmeg). Not overly punchy, I would have preferred this at a slightly higher strength. Some creamy toffee. A tad more oak and tannins than on the nose.

Finish: long, slowly drying with plenty of spices from the oak. Aniseed stands out. A hint of toast in the background.

An elegant and characteristic Glenrothes that’s quite complex and very balanced.