Very Old Glenrothes plus apéritif


January 8, 2024

WF's Little Duos, Today very old
Glenrothes plus apéritif

Not just any aperitif, so let's get to it... And long live the hogsheads!

Glenrothes 25 yo 1997/2023 (47.5%, Thompson Bros. for The Whisky Show London 2023, refill hogshead, 231 bottles)

Ah, a refill hogshead, that's a change from the seas of wine flooding our distilleries these days. Bravo, London, even if we're a bit behind here. I mean, with this beautifully aged Glenrothes for the Whisky Show. Colour: white wine. Nose: it starts with a bit of glue and fresh varnish, which is far from unpleasant in this context, then moves on to orchard fruits, starting with greengages and cherries (including their stems and pits). Then we find apricots, quite common in natural Glenrothes, as well as thyme and linden. A bit of coconut in the end, the hogshead was thus far from exhausted. Mouth: starts with a lot of fresh marzipan, pistachios, bitter almonds, then moves on to grapefruit and orange peels, goes through a slightly metallic phase (silver spoon), then comes back to cherries and kirsch, with a rather pronounced stone-y aspect. Finish: medium length, with unexpected notes of very young gamay, almost like a Beaujolais nouveau, which I quite like and moreover, it's not really wine (but of course it is). In fact, it's quite close to varnish, cherry stems and fruit peels, and it works very well. One can have wine notes without adding wine, you see. Comments: very, very nice natural Glenrothes, quite tense.
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Let's move on to the antique casks...

Glenrothes 37 yo 1985/2023 (43.3%, The Roots, hogshead, 33 bottles)

A very small number of bottles, quite Christ-like. Colour: white wine. Nose: we're in a very similar universe, on wood glue, stems and leaves, herbal teas and green tea, a bit more mint this time, some floral notes, fresh almonds, apples, plums, and there's marzipan here too... Mouth: we move on to wax, even more marzipan, different fresh mints, fruit peels, a slight saltiness and above all, not the slightest sign of tiredness, even the cinnamon is very much under control. Finish: not immensely long and even more on herbal teas and mint. White pepper and cinnamon at the near end, then a bit of pine resin at the very end of the aftertaste. That's where you can tell it's an old whisky. Comments: Glenrothes isn't a malt with a very extroverted character, just like its former colleague from that era, Bunnahabhain, but as a result, it offers over time some refined and delicate nuances.
SGP:561 - 89 points.

Glenrothes 39 yo 1980/2020 (44.8%, Elixir Distillers, 40th Anniversary Davidoff of London, Edward Sahakian, bourbon cask, 179 bottles)

The ties between old spirits and great cigars have always been quite strong, I've myself met Zino Davidoff several times when he was the honorary president of our own club, a long time ago, between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Even though I no longer smoke, including cigars, I have great memories of our evenings, of Zino Davidoff himself, his torcedors and his countless Cuban puros (that was before the brand left Cuba). His cognacs weren't bad at all either. But let's move on to this old Glenrothes... Colour: deep gold. Nose: it's very surprising, I find notes of fresh, freshly rolled cigars. Doubtlessly a bizarre memory effect/echo... Apart from that there are magnificent camphor and menthol, mushrooms, autumn leaves, roasted nuts, a bit of tar and, really, quite a bit of tobacco and even the smoke of a good crackling blaze in an old fireplace that's drawing just a little bit badly. Mouth: very beautiful, very much on damp undergrowth, mushrooms, pine and fir, sap, mosses, camphor, mint, then roasted nuts and tar, once again. I might not have said Glenrothes, but that doesn't really matter. I think we've rarely been so close to the spirit and aromatic profile of a cigar. Finish: long and more on coffee and bitter chocolate, as well as cracked pepper. Some mint returning in the aftertaste. Comments: a thought for the very charming Zino Davidoff (1906-1994)!
SGP:472 - 91 points.

Part of the board of our Cigar Club, including the humble
author and our Honorary President Zino Davidoff (circa 1990).

Check the index of all Glenrothes we've tasted so far

		Ardbeg's 500th
		I've just realised that we've just archived our 500th Ardbeg (and our 200th Benriach). It doesn't mean much, but still, these are small milestones for WF. Come on, let's continue.