Glenrothes 1988 Review

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

Tomatin 1976 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: Tomatin (Mo Or)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  34 Years

ABV:  46 % 

Date: 12/05/2013

Colour: Deep Amber/Copper 

Nose: A very Mature combination of Sherry and Fruit. I recognise Red Fruits, Plums, Apricots, Melons and Bananas. I also find Oak, Dark Chocolate, Nuts, Toast, Honey, Herbs, Vanilla and a hint of Furniture Polish. The Alcohol is very discrete and the ABV of 46% seems spot on for this expression.

Palate: Mouthwatering and Creamy with a delicious combination of nicely integrated Sherry, Fruits (Melon, Grapefruit and Papaya) and Herbs. I also find Oak, light Licorice, Honey, Cocoa Powder, Vanilla and Dark Chocolate. Mature and Well-Balanced.

Finish: Again, Well-Balanced and Creamy with Dark Chocolate, Pepper, Herbs, Oak, Fruit and hints of Mint and Ginger.

Adding Water does not improve this Tomatin in my opinion. 

Rating: 87.5

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22  - Finish: 22 - Overall: 22

General Remarks: The Tomatin Distillery was founded in 1897 and is located close to the A9 Motorway, halfway between Aviemore and Inverness. Over the years it grew very fast and today it is the second largest distillery in scale after Glenfiddich. The former owners Tomatin Distillers Company were responsible for increasing the production capacity between 1956 and 1964 but went into liquidation in 1985. Since 1998, Tomatin is owned by the Japanese Takara Shuzo Co, part of the Marubeni Group. A large part of the production (80%) goes into blends like Antiquary and Talisman. Lately the distillery is making an effort to promote its Single Malts again. The Tomatin 1976 from Mo Or (Gaelic for My Gold) we're tasting today was distilled on the 31st of December of 1976 and bottled on the 7th of February of 2011. The whisky matured in a Sherry Butt (Cask # 4). A total of 954 bottles were drawn from this cask. It's quite expensive of course at around 190 US Dollars per 50 Cl bottle. Mo Or is an Independent Bottler from the Netherlands. If you are interested in samples of this bottler, you could have a look here: Dolce Vita Trading - Nosing and Tasting Kits

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good

Conclusion: Nose, Palate and Finish are in near perfect Harmony. If anything, the Nose is a bit subdued and slightly Dusty. Still, this is a very nice whisky. The Oak and Spice are never too dominant despite its 34 years, the Sherry is very nicely integrated and the ABV of 46% is spot on. It can't be cheap of course but I can fully recommend this Tomatin. A whisky for a very special occasion!

Jan van den Ende                                                                        May 2013

Santis Malt Edition Dreifaltigkeit CS Peated Review

Country: Switzerland

Brand: Santis Malt Edition Dreifaltigkeit  (Cask Strength Peated)

Type: Appenzeller Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS (I would guess 3-5 years)

ABV: 52%

Date: 11/05/2013

Colour: Dark Ale

Nose: Smoked Ham! Did you ever visit a German Butcher Shop in a small country village? If you did, you know what I'm trying to express here! There's Peat as well but it's completely different from the Islay variety. It's more like Cold Charred Oak. I also get German " Rauchbier", a dark beer with a distinct Smoked Ham taste and on top of that German Dark Sour Bread. It's almost a Schwarzwalder Schinkenplatte, a plate of Black Forest Ham and Dark Bread. After half an hour or so the Smoke lifts a bit and I get some Malt, Red Fruit, Caramel, Aniseed, light Medicinal tones and Wood Spice. It sure does not smell like your regular Speysider but it's a very interesting experiment!

Taste: The Smoked Ham continues and is accompanied by Sweet Barley, Dark Red Fruits, Herbs, Pepper, Caramel and Dark Ale.

Finish: Quite lasting with some slightly bitter Oak, Cooked Red Fruits and of course the Smoked Ham! 

I added a few drops of Water and the Smoked Ham gets the more refined aroma of sliced Black Forest Ham of superior quality. A bit of Caramel and Sweet Barley as well. The Palate and Finish get more of the Cooked Red Fruit. You can certainly play with a bit of Water here.

Rating: 85.5

   

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21.5  - Finish: 21- Overall: 21.5

General Remarks: The Brewery in Appenzell (Switzerland) produces beer since around 1830 and was purchased by the Locher Family in 1886. Today they produce a wide range of beers, with or without Alcohol. In 1999 the Brewery started distilling whisky that was presented to the market for the first time in 2002. The Dreifaltigkeit uses water from the Alpstein Mountains and Peat from the Upland Moor. It matured in used Very Old Oak Beer Casks that were smoked with Oak Wood again. The Malted Barley was smoked twice over. Four expressions are named after Alpstein Mountain formations. They are Santis, Sigel, Dreifaltigkeit and Marwees. The Dreifaltigkeit is priced at around 75 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat:  Very Different but Good. An experiment you're not likely to forget.   

Conclusion: This is amazing stuff. Quite an experiment! Certainly not your daily to-go-to whisky but it's worthwhile to give it a try. Even if it's only once in your life. This is probably a very young spirit but the combination of the very old (60-130 years) charred Beer Casks and the local Peat makes this a very powerful whisky. It makes you wonder what would happen to this spirit if it was allowed to mature for 12 years or so!

Jan van den Ende                                                                        May, 2013