The Glenrothes 1995 was the first Glenrothes ever to be laid down as a vintage with a “designed” character. Before ‘95, they simply composed vintages “ad hoc” from the available stocks. The previously released Glenrothes 1998 was also an intentional vintage, but of course that was distilled later.
Glenrothes 1995 is composed of 30% sherry treated casks (both American and Spanish oak) and 70% refill casks. I was able to try it at The Whisky Fair in Limburg thanks to Stefan, their German ambassador.
Glenrothes 1995 (43%, OB 2011)
Glenrothes 1995 (43%, OB 2011)Nose: high on butterscotch, milk chocolate and toffee notes, which is very typical for Glenrothes but the recent releases (1991, 1994, 1998) didn’t seem to focus too much on these characteristics. Great to see they’re back in the 1995. There’s also quite some honey and vanilla. Malty notes. Cake. Raisins. Caramelized apple and cinnamon.
Mouth: very sweet and rather thick. Vanilla custard and fruit syrup. Sweet malt and caramel. Soft oak spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper). Toffee fudge and honey again. Peanuts. Subtle lemon.
Finish: medium length with citrus and caramelized spices.
Good to see The Glenrothes is moving back to its rich toffee and butterscotch style. Nothing mind-boggling but good value for money. Around € 50.
Score: 83/100