Ex-sherry casks
ABV 43%
Colour: Amber
Nose: Prickly, acetone, and a bit industrial grain like whisky which kind of sums up Glenrothes. Once it settles I get some old tobacco, dull honey, some confectionery, oxidized red apple puree and charred oak. Let's see if water can wake this baby up. Better. Certainly more lively. I'm getting a lot more fruit now. Pineapple, watermelon, sweet lime, and something sour like a grape candy.
Palate: Hard, industrial, bitter, sappy Glenrothes. Not much of a departure from the nose - tobacco, herbal honey, bitter orange rind, and a lot of oak. Water makes a tiny improvement by pushing back the oak and rounding off the edgy distillate thereby giving it some semblance of an acceptable mouthfeel. Nothing more to add here I'm afraid.
Finish: Mercifully short and swift
Overall: Ok I have a bias here. I've never been impressed by Glenrothes. Never cared about the vintages they released. It is their hard as nails, grain like industrial distillate which is impossible to tame. Much like Deanston. Even here at a neutered ABV of 43% it still manages to poke through. The sherry maturation is equally knackered. I wonder why this was released when you have that wonderful Miltonduff already. I shall pass this one.
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