THE GLENROTHES LAUNCHES THE RESERVE COLLECTION WITH A NEW PEATED EXPRESSION 

Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits is delighted to unveil The Reserve Collection from award-winning Speyside distillery, The Glenrothes. 

Known for producing Vintage single malt whiskies that are chosen at the peak of their maturity, The Glenrothes is proud to introduce a new selection of non-age statement single malt. The Reserve Collection comprises: Sherry Cask Reserve, Bourbon Cask Reserve, Vintage Reserve and a brand new expression, The Peated Cask Reserve. 

The Reserve Collection

Vintage Reserve, made up of 10 different Vintages, was initially launched in the UK back in July and Sherry Cask Reserve, our first all first-fill sherry cask expression, was launched last year.

In a bid to be more transparent to consumers, The Glenrothes has renamed ‘Alba Reserve’ as the Bourbon Cask Reserve and the newly released, Peated Cask Reserve, is a first for The Glenrothes. 

Vintage Reserve is the expression that best epitomises The Glenrothes Vintage Single Malt philosophy of bottling whisky only once it has reached the peak of its maturity. Vintage Reserve marries together a good many carefully selected Vintages from the last three decades.

The Glenrothes Vintage Reserve 40% ABV

Appearance:  Brassy gold.

Bouquet:                 Unusually fragrant, soft in style, wafts of mature citrus and honeycomb accompanied with characteristic red fruits.

Palate:          Very soft silky/creamy mouth-feel. Red berry fruits swirl and dominate with    time over the nebulous nuttiness.

Finish:           Mid to long citrus and honeyed vanilla and the faint reminder of 1st fill sherry casks.

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.

The Glenrothes Sherry Cask Reserve 40% ABV Appearance:  Burnished gold. Nose:            Orange peel, fruitcake, vanilla, gingerbread, black cherries, pear drops. Palate:                    Spicy, ginger, oaky notes, crème brûlée. Finish:           Lingering spiciness with orange peel notes.

Bourbon Cask Reserve is matured exclusively in American oak refill bourbon casks and laid to rest in the warehouse, allowing the whisky to pull the aromas and flavours embedded in the grain of the wood.

The Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve 40% ABV Appearance:  Pale straw, clear and bright.  Bouquet:                 Fresh, floral, coconut, American oak vanilla. Palate:          Soft mellow, crème brûlée and berry fruits. Finish:           Smooth, sweet, medium length.

The Peated Cask Reserve

The Glenrothes has always taken an interest in different approaches in which to showcase the depth of the distillery’s character. At first, classically by experimentation with different casks, sizes and wood then, secondly, by looking outside the current box.

By delving into the distillery’s heritage it was discovered that one of the first associations with another distillery was with a company called Highland Distilleries back in 1887. This was an association formed between The Glenrothes and the Islay Distillery Co Ltd.

The research provided the inspiration for the new expression, the task now was to identify some excellent whisky. Deciding on Vintage 1992, The Glenrothes was given a temporary home in a cask hailing from the peaty lands of Islay. It doesn’t take much time to add a kiss of peat smoke to complement but not overpower the usual Glenrothes characteristics.

Ronnie Cox, The Glenrothes Brand Heritage Director, describes the Peated Cask Reserve as:

‘A wonderful surprise. Another first! The first modern-day marriage of elegant, fruity, and, of course, mature Glenrothes with subtle but intriguing peaty mists of Islay. “

Malt Master Gordon Motion’s flavour notes appear on the front label: “Lemon fruitiness, spicy and deliciously smoky.” 

The Glenrothes Peated Reserve 40% ABV

Appearance: Mid gold.

Bouquet:       Nettles, new leather, peat, nutmeg and white wine.

Palate:          Peat smokiness, light vanilla, spices and citrus peel.

Finish:                    Spicy and lingering. 

The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve will be sold exclusively through M&S in the UK from November; it will be priced at £45 per bottle.  

Notes:

The Glenrothes was founded in 1879.

Only 3% of the distillery capacity is bottled as Single Malt to ensure exceptional quality.

Of the 22 Vintages released to date, 14 have entirely sold out.

Owned by Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd, the wine and spirit merchants established in 1698, The Glenrothes is an award winning Speyside Single Malt Whisky of exceptional quality from the town of Rothes in Speyside -Scotland’s whisky heartland.

Established in 1879, the Glenrothes is a pioneer in Scotch Whisky. All our single malt is vintage malt. When we say vintage, we mean whisky distilled and put in cask in a single year. When judged to be at its peak of maturity, character and flavour, then we carefully marry selected vintages together as Reserves, or bottle them individually as Single Vintages.

At The Glenrothes, maturity matters more than age. A combination of many factors, including our unusually slow distillation process in tall copper pot stills, deliver our characteristic sweet, fruity and elegant spirit. Further flavours are derived from our extensive knowledge of maturation in oak casks. Each expression has its own unique personality, underpinned by the distinctive, hallmark characteristics of the distillery – ripe fruits, citrus, vanilla and an exquisite spicy finish all encased in the creamiest of textures and with a complex and well-poised balance.

The Glenrothes is only selected for bottling when it has reached its zenith of maturity; each cask is carefully checked, nosed and tasted many times. An age statement does not reveal the maturity of the whisky and so the Glenrothes is bottled only when ready, meaning mature and at its peak of perfection. Malt whisky matures at its own pace as shown by the two casks selected.

Some of our recent awards and accolades for current bottlings:

The Glenrothes, Vintage Reserve

• Gold, Scotch Whisky Masters 2015

• Double Gold, China Wine & Spirits Awards 2015

• Gold, The Asian Spirits Masters 2015

• “Officially Amazing”, Guinness World Record holder for largest Burns Supper, 2015

The Glenrothes Sherry Cask Reserve

• Double Gold, WSWA 2015
• Recommended, Whisky Magazine, Issue 123, February 2015
• Difford’s Guide, Exceptional 5 out of 5 stars 2014

The Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve

• Excellent, Highly Recommended (92/100), Ultimate Spirits Challenge, 2014