#BottleKill – The Glenrothes, 12 y/o

Review – The Glenrothes, Single Malt, 12 y/o

A gift from a friend, The Glenrothes 12 y/o was a new distillery to us, and still not one that we have had much experience with. As big fans of the Glenfarclas Distillery, we were keen to see what this dram would have to offer as a fellow sherry matured whisky. In short … it did not disappoint!

The Glenrothes Distillery

Located in the town of Rothes in heart of Speyside, the Glenrothes Distillery was established in 1897 with help from two men: Mr James Stuart and Rev. William Sharp. In the modern-age they are without a visitor centre, instead preferring to let their whisky ‘put them on the map’.

They call the foundations of their single-malt, the ‘Four Corners‘. Building on their processes started in 1879 they look to make their whisky with “with integrity, authenticity and, above all, with expert craft”. Their Four Corners are: water, slow distillation, sherry casks, and natural colour.

A number of age-statements can be found as part of their core-range including, a 10 y/o, 12 y/o and 25 y/o.

First Impressions and Reflections

The Glenrothes have an interesting bottle shape – more globe like than the majority of bottles on our shelf. This made it somewhat difficult to place, however, it did consistently draw our eyes! We’re also fans of their colourful labels, each representing a different age in their core-range.

This distilleries preference for sherry-cask maturation shines through in the deep-amber colour of the liquid. With the first pour it looked great in a Glencairn glass; a real eye-catcher.

Nose: red apples, honey, nut brittle, tropical fruits like melon and banana, vanilla
Palate: quite creamy and fruit forward, lots of apples, some dried red fruits, honey, vanilla, and light toffee
Finish: light and not terribly long, fruit flavours continue, with a lingering sweetness

This is a very easy scotch. Falling nicely into the ‘every-day post dinner’ category. The smooth creamy texture, sweetness, and fruit forward notes feel familiar and welcoming.

Final Thoughts

I think we sometimes forget that not every bottle of whisky has to be mind-blowing, or break all the rules. The Glenrothes 12 y/o is a great example of an easy whisky that is comfortable in it’s own skin – not trying to be anything but itself. Given the low ABV (40%) it packs plenty of flavour. We feel that it would be great in an Old Fashioned cocktail, drawing out the fruitiness.

Personally we would recommend this to any whisky beginner; clean enough to pick out individual flavours, whist remaining complex enough to be tasty and keep developing. Do you have any whiskies that you steer beginners towards? Let us know in the comments below.