Wemyss Vintage Glenrothes Malts Tasting Notes

Wemyss Vintage Malts Single Cask Release 1990 (19 year old) ‘Toffee Apples’ 46%

Oloroso Sherry Cask/ Dist: 1990 Btl: Apr 2009/ Tasted: July 2009

A deep, luxuriant nose of mature sherry with fruit cake, dried fruit, wood spice and liquorice. It develops a touch of herbal honey and aniseed. Water lessens the sherry impact and ramps up the honey.

The palate is pretty much like the nose. Quiet oily and the alcohol bites even though it’s only 46%. Water makes little change. Good dried fruit finish. Piquant alcohol. Water softens. A pleasant, mature sherry cask.

The Whisky Baron Glenrothes Tasting Notes

The Whisky Baron Founders Collection Glenrothes 2006 (12 year old) 57%

1^st Fill Sherry Butt 6147/ Dist: Jun 2006 Btl: Mar 2019/ Tasted: Jun 2021

Aromas of earthy, straw dried grape, raisin, sultana, sweet Clementine and tangerine. There is a very subtle, industrial distillery character note along with hints of barley, malt vinegar, wood spice, liquorice and tannin.

The palate displays earthy, dark, raisinated fruit and hints of Clementine and tangerine. Quite woody and tannic but spicy as well on the middle., The finish has a tongue tingling intensity, but a bit masked, continuing spicy with lingering toasted raisin, prune and sweet wood notes.

A drop of water lightens the nose slightly brining out a bit more citrus character and a touch more industrial spirit character. Subtle vanilla and walnut shell. The palate is also softer. Still juicy and sherried with dark chcoclate and noticeable edgy spirit character. Longer, but still woody with a pleasant, toasty European oak finish and lingering vanilla.

The Maltman Glenrothes Tasting Notes

The Maltman Glenrothes 2008 (10 year old) 53.9%

Pedro Ximinez Cask 9920/ Dist: 2008 Btl: 2019/ Tasted: Oct 2019

Burnt raisin, treacle, dark syrup and more treacle on the nose. In fact its treacle overkill! Hints of cardamom, cumin, ginger and sweet nutty/ herbal spice. Water makes no change.

The palate is a touch lighter (but not by a huge amount!) but still very sherried and very raw. Burnt raisin, treacle, tar, herbal spice, heather, mint and more treacle. Water makes it a touch bitter. The finish is very masked and very herbal with lingering raw, rose petal marc spirit. Less masked diluted.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Glenrothes Tasting Notes

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Glenrothes Batch 1 47.9%

Btl: 2014/ Tasted: Oct 2014

The nose is quite herbal and mentholated with a touch of juniper and barley. Some lovely sawdusty oak and mature-ish honey appears with time as does some grainy oak tannins.

A subtle palate, opening with the lightly toffee’d oak followed by barley, citrus and grainy wood tannins. A touch of dried fruit, pepper and herbs comes through on the middle. Subtle it maybe but it has a lovely depth. Good peppery finish with the alcohol making the mouth water. A light honey residue contains it to a certain extent. Pleasant herbal after-taste. In conclusion: Beautifully balanced. The spirit hints at some maturity but it also displays a lovely, crisp freshness as well.

That Boutiquey-Whisky Company Glenrothes 20 year old Batch 5 52.4%

Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Jan 2019

A deep, gentle and aromatic nose with plenty of creamy, buttery and caramel accented oak. Hints of greengage, lime and lemon appear, but the oak really is the focal point here. Very clean and the oak doesn’t seem very mature.

The palate is full and vanilla’d with hints of toffee and caramel. Hints of barley, greengage and lime come through. Again it’s very clean but very oaky. Quite a spicy middle and a long, edgy, mineral, green fruit – gooseberry and under ripe banana finish with and oily marzipan.

Water makes the nose very neutral with sweeter barley and hints of tobacco leaf. The palate is crisper and shows more citrus and less oak. Vibrant mineral laced greengage and green apple on the middle. Long, sweet barley and mineral finish with hints of green pepper, cardamom and white liquorice.

Skene Whisky Glenrothes Tasting Notes

Skene Glenrothes 2009 (No Stated Age) 48%

Single Bourbon Cask/ Dist: 2009 Btl: 2019? (possibly 9 years old)

Tasted: May 2021

Aromas of dense, herbal dark fruit, malt and subtle dried fruit. Hints of liquorice, wood smoke and what feels like sweet sherried dried fruit, although I was informed that this was from an ex-Bourbon hogshead. Late beeswax and toffee.

The palate opens with sweet toffee and I’m convinced sherried dark fruit. Hints of slightly hard spice, liquoirce and tannin follows. Straightforward with a good depth. Long with lingering dried fruit, spice and dark chocolate. In conclusion I’m sure this was a miss labled Blair Athol sample but I was informed not.

Mossburn Distillers Glenrothes Tasting Notes

Mossburn Distillers No26 Glenrothes 2007 (11 year old) 46%

Batch 01.0507.26

Dist: 2007 Btl: 2019/ Tasted: July 2021

A hard, spiky, slightly feinty nose, loaded with gooseberry and industrial barley, under-ripe green fruit and hints of apricot, and lemon. Very subtle milky oak and dusty spice.

The palate displays plenty of industrial barley, oily feints and a touch of burnt caramel. Yep, classic ‘rothes! Again there’s under-ripe green fruit and a touch more milky oak on the middle. Slightly hot but very peppery finish with lingering hard barley and feints. You can’t argue that it displays plenty of distillery character!

Malts of Scotland Glenrothes Tasting Notes

Malts of Scotland Glenrothes 1996 (18 year old) 55.5%

Sherry Hogshead – MOS14028

Dist: Mar 1996 Btl: Jun 2014/ Tasted: Nov 2014

Quite herbal aromas with hints of boiled sweet sherry, manure, liquorice and dusty spice. Pleasantly balanced with hints of vanilla, butter and barley.

The palate is soft and a little watery with hints of beeswax and lightly sherried dried fruit. A touch of walnut, liquorice and peppery spice emerges along with some buttery oak notes on the middle. Good, intense, spicy finish with the alcohol drying the finish.

Dilution simplifies the nose, leaving just the buttery oak notes. The palate is extremely insubstantial and oily. I had  feeling that it wouldn’t o water well.

Gordon & MacPhail Glenrothes Tasting Notes

Gordon & MacPhail Discovery Range Glenrothes 11 year old 43%

Sherry/ Tasted: Aug 2019

Pungent aromas of sulphur and wet cardboard. Beneath the industrial barley and plasticy dried fruit there is some sweet blood orange, but overall the nose reminds me of fly spray! Yes, it’s that good!

The palate is rough and industrial with wet cardboard, feints, plastic and dried fruit. Really bitter and acerbic on the middle with a pervasive uncleanliness. Short, bitter, hot and generally nasty finish. Possibly one of the worst whiskies I’ve tasted in ages.

Carn Mor Glenrothes Tasting Notes

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Glenrothes 2011 (7 year old) 46%

Sherry Puncheon

Dist: 2011 Btl: 2018

Tasted: Aug 2018

Aromas of refill sherried dried fruit, along with citrus peel and barley. Lightly nutty but rather homogenous with late herbal notes.

The palate is unfortunately quite cardboardy and rough, which wasn’t apparent on the nose. Cereal, vanilla, barley and hints of honey and dried fruit, but the cardboardy feints notes are pervasive. Slightly bitter and peppery middle and a short, hot finish with lingering spice and dried fruit.

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Glenrothes 2011 (8 year old) 47.5%

Sherry Butt

Dist: 2011 Btl: 2019

Tasted: Jan 2020

Pungent, industrial and farmyardy with hints of garden peas, cabbage and a side serving of sulphur for good measure. There’s a touch of dried fruit, barley and vanilla cream, but in reality it’s just damn rough!

Rough and ready, industrial and murky with dried fruit, earth and cabbage. Bitter, hot and astringent finish with grippy tannins and hints of lime and grapefruit.

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Glenrothes 2007 (9 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry

Dist: 2007 Btl: Feb 2017

Tasted: Jan 2017

Light with very subtle sherry notes. Hints of spice, Turkish delight and barley. There’s a slight dirtiness in the background which could come from the cask or the spirit!

The palate is earthy but soft with lightly toffee’d wood notes and sharp green fruit. Hints of honey and dried sherried fruit. A little rough at the edges and the finish is short and tart, but lively I guess.

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Glenrothes 2006 (11 year old) 65.5%

First Fill Sherry Butt 5673

Dist: May 2006 Btl: June 2017

Tasted: Aug 2017

Aromas of balsamic pickled onions and slightly grubby, herbal Oloroso. Usual classy Glenrothes then! Hints of sour fruit and bitter spice.

The palate is a big, first fill, treacly and herbal sherry monster. Tannic and alcoholic with a dusty/ earthy middle. Quite a masked finished with a green nut after-taste.

Water brings out a touch of orange/ tangerine. It makes the palate watery and oily with no end of cardboard notes. Like I said, the usual classy Glenrothes!

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Glenrothes 1996 (21 year old) 51.2%

Sherry Butt 57

Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: Sept 2018?

Tasted: Oct 2018

Aromas of toffee, marzipan, golden syrup, ripe prune, dates and a touch of almost PX-like grapeness. Amazingly clean and blemish free and displaying a lovely complexity of sherry cask character, with time it becomes slightly malty and nutty.

The palate displays burnt toffee and classic hard spirit character. Overly gritty Oloroso, hard caramel and a touch of marzipan. Damn the oak really bitters on the middle and unfortunately there isn’t enough sweetness to balance the bittering. Quite alcoholic finish too, which is suprising.

A drop of water makes it a little confected with more vanilla and subtler sherry. The palate however is awful. Watery, vapid and cardboardy. It was so nasty I had to spit it down the sink!

Carn Mor Black Gold Glenrothes 1997 (22 year old) 58.7%

Sherry Puncheon 7168

Dist: Apr 1997 Btl: Apr 2019

Tasted: Jun 2019

A hugely leafy, tarry, pruney and grapey sherried nose, which is not a surprise given the Black Gold range is only used for first fill sherry monsters. Thankfully there’s no distillery character present and it opens to show hints of liquorice and treacle. A touch of sharp citrus balances the sweetness but the treacle keeps on going. With time hints of malty baked bread and raisins.

The palate is quite sweet, actually it’s very sweet with treacle, prunes, dried grape and herbal Oloroso notes. Slightly edgy and citric on the middle but that sort of balances the sweetness. Pleasant alcohol enhanced spices appear on the middle and the finish is long and juicy with a mature Armagnac-esque dark fruit finish and a touch of drying tannins.

Water makes very little change to the nose. It’s still very sherried! The palate is fuller due to the lessening of the citrus notes. Sweeter, maltier but like the nose still very sherried. Slightly drier and more tannic finish but the dark fruits linger.

Edition Spirits Glenrothes Tasting Notes

Edition Spirits’The First Editions’ Glenrothes 1996 (19 year old) 56.2%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: EDI0124/ HL12125

Dist: 1996 Btl: 2015/ Tasted: Jan 2016

The nose is seriously intense, packed with gritty, rye-like spices and Bourbony oak. Woody, grippy and course with late burnt toast, cardamom and green citrus notes.

Like the nose the palate is gritty, grainy and slightly coffee’d with again rye-like spices and dry tannins. However the creamy fruit and oak just about balances. Long and herbal with a late wheaty note.

With water the nose becomes sweeter with juicy apricot and a touch of apple. Still quite herbal and rye-like though. The palate is sweeter and creamier too. Very deep but possible a little simpler now. Still the rye-like herbal notes linger.

Edition Spirits’The First Editions’ Glenrothes 1996 (20 year old) 53.5%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0204

Dist: Jul 1996 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Dec 2016

Intense, straw-like aromas with hints of barley, coffee bean, herbs, balsamic chocolate and malt.

The palate is quite chocolaty and malty with straw, barley, honey, toffee and citrus notes. Lovely, buttery oak finish, but the alcohol keeps it in check. The chocolate and coffee notes return on the finish.