Glenrothes G&M MacPhail's 8yo

On a visit to my favourite local liquor shop, stocking over 3000+ different bottles of whisky, I came to the sobering observation that even independent whiskies are no longer for the little spender. No I’m not willing to pay over a hundred euro for a twelve year old Caol Ila, just because you put a fancy label on it.

With the industry forcing expensive NAS down our throats and the indies believing that they can ask premium prices no matter the quality, I’m lucky to have hoarded quite the stash of bottles, miniatures and samples to help me through these desperate times. Enter this Glenrothes, it has been gathering dust on my shelf for quite some time now. G&M still releases this 8yo whisky as part of its revamped MacPhail’s collection, this however is an older miniature. The exact bottlingdate is unknown to me, but G&M used this label lay-out from the 90’s up until recently.

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Description: matured for 8 years in a refill Sherry casks and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for the MacPhail’s Collection at 40,0% ABV.

Nose: a rounded fruity nose dripping with sherry. Red apples, malted barley, boiled sweets and yes maybe a sniff of tobacco leaves.

Mouth: a light body combined with a palate that is bitter and floral at the same time. Notes of apple, ginger biscuits, orange peel and oregano.

Finish: quite short, chocolate with a bit of a metallic (copper) edge to it and I’m getting soapy notes in the tail.

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Verdict: the spirit profile seems to be on par with that of another Speyside distillery: Miltonduff. That same fizzing mouthfeel as a Miltonduff 10 from G&M has is quite uncanny. Though not entirely convinced by this whisky, the 79 score it received on whiskybase is too harsh. I’m going to give it a pass, on the merit that it has a lot of flavour for a 40%er, plus it is reasonable priced (as a 8yo whisky should be).

Find where to buy Glenrothes whisky