Yesterday I was convinced this was a young-ish, high octane belter from the SMWS. It turns out to be a not-insanely-high-strength Glenrothes with some decent age to it.
Maybe I should just get out of this hobby all together…
Anyway, I had this before in February. You can read the review here. Back then I thoroughly liked it, but yesterday it didn’t really work for me. I didn’t dislike it, but it left me in a shrugging mood, so to say.
My tasting notes are quite different too. This might have to do with me still working through the tail end of a cold I’ve been having for weeks (generally, the evenings are fine though), or my palate has changed, or something else entirely. I guess we’ll never know.
Sniff:
Sherry from American Oak, by the smell of it. Sweet, but really intense with some fruits stewed in syrup. Some toasted oak, with a raw edge.
Sip:
Very sweet, and very strong. Some chocolaty notes, with stewed fruits. Some rhubarb and pears. Syrupy, with some alcoholic hot noets. It takes a long time before it mellows a bit.
Swallow:
The finish ramps up the sherry at first, and then mellows to a rather nice sweetness. Very Christmassy, like boiled Christmas pudding, with the cloying sweetness that it generally has. Quite heavy.
This time around I rated it only with 85/100, instead of a whopping 90. I guess what a good ‘analyst’ would do now is get a bottle and make up his mind, but since I also ordered that Bunnahabhain from yesterday, that’s not going to happen.
I still got points for the region, though. I went for a 10 year old Glen Moray at 60 odd percent…
Glenrothes 1990-2015, 24yo, 55.7%, Cadenhead’s. Available on Whiskybase for 185 euros.
