Sign of the times. More and more NAS whiskies are released, and The Glenrothes has also released one recently : the sherry cask reserve. The Glenrothes have released quite a few NAS whiskies in recent years, even before the big NAS trend (the select reserve, alba reserve, Robur reserve, Manse reserve etc. so as you can see NAS is not a new territory when GR is concerend, however this is the first release where the whisky is aged in only first fill sherry casks. as the PR states:
“Sherry Cask Reserve is matured predominantly in European oak which delivers a greater array of flavours than the American equivalent and, in particular, the resinous and dried fruit character underpinning the sherry top notes.”
Like most other Glenrothes, this one is bottled at 40% and since i see no mention of colouring or filtration I guess this is filtered and Caramel is added, pricing is set at £55 (€65) which is not cheap for NAS, but is in par with recent NAS bottlings (HP Dark origins for example, reviewed on the blog earlier this week).
Let’s dram!
The Glenrothes sherry cask reserve , 46% abv , NAS , £55 (€65)
Nose: Sweet with Cocoa, chocolate ad orange peel, spices, vanilla and ginger. Xmas cake and some dried fruit underneath that all (raisin, plum) and a hint of dark cherries.
Palate: Starts rather spicy with pepper, ginger and wood spices, then getting creamier and fruitier with sweet dough, crème Catalan and apricot in sweet syrup.
Finish: Spicy, with orange marmalade, and pepper.
Bottom Line:
This is a good dram. It does not surprise for the better or for worse, very drinkable, and the sherry influence is rather noticeable. However, it does reach the heights other sherry centric NAS whiskies I’ve tried were able to reach. Glenrothes fans will be at home with this one, although it’s not the classic GR profile (not many butterscotch notes) , but the orange peel and dried fruit are there. A bit pricey for what it delivers really.