Another indie Glenrothes. That means there’s a chance I’ll actually like this. That’s overly cynical, but the general complaint from whisky lovers is that Glenrothes doesn’t do higher ABVs and focuses heavily on the ‘entry’ market by making just those overly friendly, lightly sherried whiskies.

In short, I never bought a bottle of official Glenrothes. And unless they change their regimen, I’m not likely to.

The indie bottlings however, can be quite epic. Especially if there’s some age to the whisky. Glenrothes can handle age quite well. This one is 24 years old, and from fresh sherry casks by the looks of it. The info only says ‘Sherry Butts’.

Ever since Mark Watt took over at Cadenhead’s they’ve been releasing some really good whiskies. Somehow I’ve not gotten around to buying any of them, but with the enormous amount of releases happening every month, that’s not too strange either. You just can’t get them all.

Sniff:
Mountains of sherry, with lots of fresh fruit. Peaches and nectarines. Some gentle cinnamon and caramel. Soft oak and a great not overpowering sweetness.

Sip:
Sweet caramel sauce. Quite a bit more fierce than I expected. Lots of fruity sherry (plums are added to the peaches and nectarines) but also some baking spices. The baking spices get more prominent, and the oak more pronounced after some swimming.

Swallow:
A rather powerful finish that’s more intense than I expected. Lots of oak and spices, but still quite fruity. Ever so slightly bitter, and quite long.

This one clearly migrates from mostly fruity on the nose to spiced and oaky on the finish. The palate nicely ties those two parts together. It works really well, and makes for an excellent whisky.

It is one for the sherry heads however, since the spirit is overpowered by the oak, but this being Glenrothes that’s not overly surprising. But, it’s a great one that I wouldn’t mind having a bottle of.

90/100

Glenrothes 24, 1990-2015, 55.7%, Sherry Butts, Cadenhead’s Small Batch. Sold out, but available in the Whiskybase Marketplace for some € 220