The Symington’s Choice series quickly built up a solid reputation. Signatory Vintage introduced this name early 2023 as a high-end range within the classic Cask Strength Collection. In case you don’t remember, just check the initial Macallan / Laphroaig / Bowmore trio.
Today we’re having Glenrothes 1995 from a first fill Oloroso butt. There was also a sister cask #6176 in the same series.
Glenrothes 28 yo 1995 (55%, Signatory Vintage ‘Symington’s Choice’ 2023, first fill Oloroso butt #6981, 533 btl.)
Nose: quite intense, showing lots of dark chocolate notes, cloves, but also roasted pineapple. Plums, cigar boxes and hints of leather. Toasted bread, cinnamon and sweetened Ceylon tea. Tobacco and roasted chestnut. While the sherry overtakes the spirit, it does manage to keep enough fruity character, with raspberry jam, hints of blood orange and dried apricot.
Mouth: a proper sherry bomb. Truckloads of raisins and dates, alongside crushed peppercorns, some herbal syrup and dark roast coffee. Cloves and slightly burnt cinnamon cake. Then plenty of sandalwood and tobacco leaves, making it a little dry. In a second wave it picks up minty freshness, dark cocoa and hints of raspberry ganache.
Finish: long, on walnuts, herbal bitters, tobacco and leather, with hints of red berries. A tad wry perhaps, but I guess that’s part of the profile.
Right. This is very intense, with lots of deep sherry notes, spices and dark cocoa, but certainly not unbalanced. For me it looses a few points towards the finish, as it becomes very dry and a tad bitter. Available from The Whisky Exchange or Whiskysite.nl (also samples if you like).