Malt Mission 2008 #294

Glenrothes 1968
cask 13498
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Duncan Taylor and Co.
48.2% abv
£110

It is ridiculous that I have not yet had a Glenrothes for the malt mission. I suppose it is a bit nuts to imagine that someone could have almost 300 whiskies and still have negelected a whole distillery. Well it is not my fault, I have visited Ronnie Cox et al at whisky tasting events and tried their old and new vintages, just never in the controlled environment of the malt mission. To be completely honest, this is mainly because I have never received any samples through the post, and its not cuz the owners don't don't know this whisky blog exists; I have see Berry Brothers and Rudd (or their server, anyways) and the Edrington Group reading Dr. Whisky many times over the past year. Oh well. I try not to solicit and this is getting to that point, so enough. Sorry, I'm writing like an idiot today. Just not feeling it.

Thanks to the nice folks at Duncan Taylor and Co. for sending the sampler of their Glenrothes bottling along. I might as well tell you that between them sending me the drop and me getting around to posting on it over the past few tumultuous months, all bottles have been sold out. Nonethless...

Rather than having only a graveyard of casks at the distillery, Glenrothes is unique in having a still house that overlooks a cemetery. The distillery was off to a shaky start when the initial investors behind the construction of Glenrothes withdrew (to open a neighbouring distillery and begin a dispute over the water source). The financial difficulties led to the construction of a distillery much smaller than had originally been planned. Joining forces with Bunnahabhain to become Highland Distillers in 1897 and doubling its size in 1898 created a more secure future for the distillery. Today it is one of the largest distilleries in the industry with much of its produce finding its way in to Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark blended whiskies. It was a year after a distillery fire in 1922 that Cutty Sark was created.

God, what stilted prose today. Sorry.

Tasted with TF.

TASTING NOTES:

Raspberry, strawberry-tinged baby power. Smells like a place, i just can't pinpoint where, but it fills me with guilt -associated feelings. A brothel? The ladies room? The apartment of the other woman? Oak, some sour sherry notes, butter and crepes. "Quite fruity, red apple, cheesecake base, do you know what I mean? Biscuity. There's a sort of... you know, Haribo fried eggs." Laughter. Totally, says I. "Green oak, broken twigs, less fruit as it develops." Time in the glass lets out more estery high notes again."I like the old mahogany church pew you get off these oldies."

Soft, then bright, cloves, Brio chinotto, sweet soda fountain syrup, butterscotch. Floral notes and then tons of oaky grip. A sugary (muscovado?) sweetness lingers low among ginger roots and twigs. "Pruny, sort of like old cognac, raisins. Ginger, or gingerbread maybe, baked apple. The oak comes out so much on the finish, it becomes slightly astringent, wood tannins, that sort of almost resiny taste that you get."

SUMMARY:

A tasty mouthfull, with an emphasis on full. Less interesting on the nose, "yeah, but we've had it for like twenty minutes. Its still got it on the palate, maybe just a touch too woody. I like it." Tim was surpirsed to learn it was Glenrothes.

Malt Mission #291
Malt Mission #292
Malt Mission #293
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