Country: Scotland
Region: Highland - Speyside
Brand: Glenrothes 1988 (Archives)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 23 Years
ABV: 53.4 %
Colour: Pale Gold/Chardonnay
Nose: Sweet Barley, Warm Apfelstrudel, Oak, Spices, Oat Porridge, Vanilla, Lemon, Mandarin, Peach, Straw/Grass, light Sherry and a hint of White Chocolate. This is my first Glenrothes and I must say I find this specific expression a bit too Spicy. You have to be patient to find the nice Fruit Notes. Look for them near the rim of your Nosing Glass!
Palate: Sweet and Spicy with Pepper, Ginger, Sweet Malt, light Licorice, Herbs, Tea, Orange, Oak, light Sherry and Cooked Fruits.
Finish: Middle-Long, Sweet and Spicy at first and a little (too) Bitter perhaps towards the end with Nut-Casks, Almonds, Herbs, Grain, light Licorice, Tea and a sprinkle of Lemon.
I added a bit of Water and Grains start to dominate the Nose with a combination of Breakfast Cereals, Sweet Malt and Oats. A bit of Honey pops up and the White Chocolate Note becomes clearer. The Spice is not that dominant anymore but I'm having difficulties in locating the Fruit. The Palate gets real Spicy with additional strong notes of Sugared Herbal Tea while the Licorice gets too strong on the Finish in my opinion. It's certainly worthwhile to experiment with a bit of Water as you can note the changes with each drop.
Rating: 84
Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 21
General Remarks: Archives is the relatively young own label of Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase.com. This Glenrothes was distilled on the 6th of June 1988 and was bottled at Cask Strength on the 4th of January 2012. It matured in a Refill Sherry Hogshead with Cask # 7318. Only 80 bottles were reserved for Whiskybase. This whisky is non chill-filtered and non coloured. This 1988 expression is sold at around 110 US Dollars.The Glenrothes Distillery is located besides the Burn of Rothes. It was founded in 1878 and is nowadays owned by Berry Brothers and Rudd. The Glenrothes is an important component in Blends like Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: Although this is certainly not a bad Single Malt, it's too Spicy and Woody for me. I would have liked to see stronger notes of Fruits and Sherry to get more Balance. I will try to obtain some other expressions of this Distillery in the near future to get a better picture of the Glenrothes Distillery character.
Jan van den Ende May 15, 2013
Burn of Rothes
