On of these 10,000*n bottles of Whiskybase. One I’ve had on my shelf for a while and never really got into, or got around to reviewing. In the end I sold some samples and it still took me three years to finish it.

Now that sounds overly negative, but let’s see whether or that is true!

Sniff:
Leathery with thick skinned, dried fruit. More wood and barley notes, accompanied by some spices start emerging after a short while. Peaches and nectarines, old polished oak.

Sip:
Fairly strong with lots of dry and sharp oaky notes. Wood spices, sawdust, peach skins, nectarines, mango skin. The leathery sensation.

Swallow:
The finish is smooth and fruity, with more focus towards that than the woody notes.

Strangely, when reviewing it, there is nothing bad to say about this whisky. Actually, it’s a really, really good one. However, back when it came out there were several others from Glenrothes that came along as well and those made a bigger impression on me, like the one from The Single Cask.

So, in the end I’m glad I didn’t bunch this one with that one, since it wouldn’t have gotten the correct review. When reviewing things together, you start comparing in a different way than when you taste things separately. For reviewing, I sure prefer the latter.

Anyway, a rather good whisky that, if I remember correctly, cost about € 90 when it came out. That’s a good price for a bottle like this. There’s enough complexity and flavor to keep you busy for a dram or so. And after that it’s pretty solid to drink too. After all, it’s almost 60%.

88/100

Currently available for € 128 in the Whiskybase Market.

Glenrothes 19, 08/10/1997-04/04/2017, Sherry butt 15404, 58.8%, Whiskybase