Old Rhosdhu 29 Year Old 1993 for The Roots

Belgian bottler The Roots selected a hogshead from the Loch Lomond distillery that was filled in 1993 with a spirit type that they produced between 1966 and 2000. The malt was given the name Old Rhosdhu. The hogshead, on which this malt lay dormant for almost three decades, yielded 222 bottles at cask strength. The malt was neither colored nor chill filtered. Coincidentally, it has the same alcohol percentage as the 27-year-old Old Rhosdhu from 1993 that Manny and I bottled in 2020. I can't help but compare them, for which I apologize up front.

The nose is excellent! Nice and fruity around apples and pears and a lot of beeswax, which makes it reminiscent of both Littlemill and Clynelish. Nice, right? Some rhubarb jam and apricots, but also quite herbal notes like hay and raw malt. All the way in the background I get some funky notes like jute bags and dried fern. All the way in the background a pinch of Graeffe sugar. As I said, excellent!

Nice and creamy in the mouth with immediately those fruity notes – we are quietly going on the tropical tour – and some spiciness. Think ginger and a little pepper. Yes, midpalate I get peach, papaya and even lychee. Canned pineapple. Syrup. Sultanas. Apple juice. And then a small bitterness as if from the pith of a grapefruit that provides a perfect balance. Man, this is very good, indeed.

The finish is bittersweet and gently drying and makes me long for another sip!

Fantastic Old Rhosdhu and one of the tastiest malts I put on the lips this year (admittedly: very early days). Any criticism? The price. You fork over 321 EUR for this, which I find very expensive (especially compared to the MMM release that went over the counter for 165 EUR). But you know as well as I do that the prices for single casks are now skyrocketing. And this malt is almost 30 years old after all.