Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 53%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Valinch & Mallet Ltd.
Average price: N/A
Official website: www.valinchandmallet.com
Vote: 83/100
Glenrothes, a distillery that is fluctuating in the appreciation of its whiskies (at least on this blog), meets Valinch & Mallet, i.e. the Ermoli & Romano duo, firmly in the elite, in terms of personal preference, of independent bottlers. What will they come up with?
Here we find ourselves with a single cask (a hogshead ex-bourbon, No. 18-0901, for the number crunchers) distilled in 2009 and bottled in 2018 at 53% ABV, belonging to the Brotherhood Collection, a series that places side by side – for ‘educational’ purposes, we imagine – whiskies from the same distillery, aged for different lengths of time in different casks, offered at the same strength. The ‘twin’ of today’s single malt is a Glenrothes distilled in 2006, aged in a single ex-Sherry cask and bottled 11 years later, in 2018, again at 53% ABV precisely. Both are impossible to find to date, at least in Italy, hence the absence of an indicative price.
Tasting notes
The colour is gold.
On the nose, it’s rather closed, at least at first, but then reveals, net of a slight alcoholic exuberance, a soul in which the evident maltiness is joined by an impression of yellow apple and notes of bread and metal, with a floral vagueness in the background and a touch of sultanas.
On the palate, the peppery mouthfeel is a little aggressive, but once its outburst is over, hints of yellow apple and bread can be recognised, again, as well as walnut and polished light wood.
The finish, not particularly long, is warm and spicy, with the malt making itself felt again.
A tough, uncompromising whisky, designed to tell the peculiar DNA of the Glenrothes distillate, forcing the drinker in the mood for detailed analysis to extra patience and concentration. A comparison with its aforementioned twin would be interesting, who knows, maybe one day there will be a chance.