Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46.8%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon refill
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Spheric Spirits
Average price: € 270.00
Official website: sphericspirits.com
Vote: 88/100
In my articles I never make any secret of what are my preferences or strictly personal tastes: the approach to whisky is a sensory experience which, as such, is influenced by one’s own experience, which no matter how objective one tries to be, inevitably ends up in the final evaluation.
That’s why I’ll say it now, so far Glenrothes’ original and independent bottlings have never driven me crazy, I find the distillery’s profile good but rather flat and ‘colourless’.
But I am always ready to change my mind.
And what better occasion than a bottling from the past, in true Spheric Spirits style, salvaging an old cask of Glenrothes to create 301 understandably low but full strength bottles, following their philosophy of unearthing whiskies with an old-fashioned profile, which I hope to find again in this tasting.
Tasting notes
Lots of yellow fruit on the nose, a salad of apple, peach, banana, apricot, mango and pineapple with lemon juice and almond slivers, garnished with a spoonful of custard. Deeper down, I detect notes of honey and propolis with a clear mineral and vegetal vein that softens the sweet side of the aromas, making it fresher and sharper. Over time, a rather caressing waxy part emerges.
The fruit remains dominant on the palate, emphasising the acidic and citrus part (grapefruit, lemon, kiwi, white grapes) which finds a happy counterbalance in the sweeter components (honey, cream, ripe yellow fruit). A sprinkling of white pepper and ginger livens up the colours, with the vegetable and mineral part well grafted onto the bottom, bringing in green tea, celery and a fleeting appearance of malt.
Not very long finish of yellow fruit, citrus, vanilla, malt.
The interplay of balances and rises between the sweet and sour notes is very amusing, with each sip slightly different from the previous one. It shows a little bit of weakness at the end, but it is a venial sin that is gladly forgiven after such a high level of entertainment.