Whisky: Glenrothes 16 Year (1999), Signatory Vintage

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 46%

Cask: Hogshead

Age: 16 Year (Distilled 19 Nov. 1999, Bottled 4 April 2016)

Nose: Citrus, cream, and Elmer’s glue. Art supplies came to mind with notes of window cleaner, construction paper, dry erase markers, and glue. Further in were hints of star anise, licorice, and coriander paired with citrus rind, herbal tea, and honey.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a lovely viscosity and citrus, vanilla, and butterscotch profile. Dehydrated pineapple rings and bright citrus notes hit the palate with a pleasant creaminess— notions of butterscotch pudding and vanilla crème brûlée with hints of maple and strawberry slices. Butterscotch and a bit of spirited heat lingered toward the end with sugary hard candies.

Finish: Lingering notes of butterscotch and hard candies.

Score: 5

Mental Image: Lumon Quarterly Pudding Party 

Notes: A delightful ex-bourbon Glenrothes with an excellent mouthfeel with intriguing vanilla and butterscotch pudding notes. We poured this at a tasting toward the beginning of April. It was early in the lineup as we all gathered and warmed up our palates. I tasted it again about a month later to wrap up my final notes.

It was a bit hot at times, so I was surprised to find out that it was only 46% abv during the tasting. Adjusting the alcohol content was clearly the right choice with this dram— if it felt hot at 46%, how angry or acetone would it have been at cask strength? I have had enough cask strength whiskies that benefited from a good doll-up of water to imagine that this was probably hot and not well integrated. Luckily, Glenrothes holds up at 46%; indeed, I might prefer it there.

Overall, a bit hot, a bit tame, but still reasonably pleasant. I enjoyed the nostalgic hits of Elmer’s Glue— a note that the parents of young children at the tasting seemed to pick up immediately. I have not had a ton of non-sherried Glenrothes, and this example, with its minimal cask influence, helped me better understand how the spirit manages to hold its own against aggressive Spanish Oak or sherry maturations.