Our neighbours to the east keep at it with another rather spectacular release. This time it’s a Glenrothes from the mid-eighties. You don’t get to try whisky this old all that often anymore, so when a sample dropped in the mailbox, I was very pleasantly surprised!

Of course, it’s been out for a little while, about a month now, and reviews have started popping up with high ratings left and right. That naturally increased the level of anticipation I was feeling to trying this dram, which I finally got around to doing this weekend!

Let’s just dive straight in!

Sniff:
The nose starts with gentle notes of straw and peaches. A warm and soft fruitiness. Oak, barley and coconut mats. There’s a hint of slate and minerals, and old apples too.

Sip:
The palate is initially gentle but quickly shows hints of black and white pepper. Apples and peaches, again that soft, warm fruitiness. Fruit like in pies, baked and sugary. Dry straw with a tiny bit of heat. Oak, barley, coconut husks. There’s a slight waxiness to it as well.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the same line as the palate. The minerals don’t show up again, which is interesting. Mostly dry and fruity, with straw, barley, oak and apples.

This is a very classical whisky, very much reminiscent to the age and style of the whisky. But as said, there’s not that much of this stuff around anymore, which makes it quite the experience. The wood has not overpowered the spirit in any way, and the whisky shows a gorgeous balance between these two.

The combination of waxiness on the palate and minerals on the nose reminded me of older Clynelish as well, and that’s not something that can hurt. A very well picked cask!

90/100

This whisky is still available in Germany for € 700