Whisky: Glenrothes 10 Year (1989) SMWS 30.27

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 60.8%

Cask: Oak

Age: 10 Years (Distilled Feb. 1989, Bottled Feb. 1999)

Nose: Orchard fruits, spirited prickle, coconut, plantains, bitter orange, bergamot, dry grass, hints of cream and vanilla.

Palate: Medium-bodied and spirited with bitter orange, walnut, hazelnut, chocolate, tobacco and hints of salt, vanilla, coconut, and cream.  Pecan and brown sugar at the end.

Finish: Long, lingering, and drying with pecan and subtle brown sugar.

Score: 6

Mental Image: Hazelnut Soda Pop

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was pleasant, though a tad spirited, with an initial gust of orchard fruit before more tropical notions of fresh coconut flesh, fried plantains, and bitter orange arrived. Bergamot poked in with time, almost earl grey on occasion, as notes of dried wheat grass and herbs developed with hints of cream and vanilla lingering in the background. Medium-bodied and brimming with youthful spirit at the outset, bitter orange arrived with walnut liqueur, hazelnut chocolate cake, tobacco, and hints of salt, vanilla, and cream. Brown sugar and freshly shucked pecans arrived at the end, then lingered on a long and slightly drying finish.

A lovely young Glenrothes that spent more time in the bottle waiting to be opened than it did in the cask maturing. Youthful and spirited, more so than I expected, even at 60.8% abv. The dram presented a feisty affair in which the nose and palate felt slightly at odds. A few drops of water brought more sweet fruit and candied nuts to the palate and smoothed the experience noticeably so that the remaining prickle lent the dram an almost effervescent quality.

Overall, a fun treat at a local whisky club tasting earlier in the year. We paired this older Glenrothes against a more recent distillation and found each had its own virtue. While this was pretty nice, Glenrothes is one of the few distilleries where I prefer the spirit in a sherry cask— whether first or fourth fill— instead of ex-bourbon, which I suspect this was.