THE GLENROTHES VINTAGE MAKER 2012: LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES

Running since October 2011, closing date for entries for The Glenrothes Vintage Maker 2012 competition is 31st January 2012. The competition can be entered at www.theglenrothes.com/vintagemaker

Winners will be recruited to work as The Glenrothes Vintage Makers in the heart of single malt production, Speyside, Scotland, culminating in the creation of The Glenrothes Vintage 2012.

As part of this opportunity, the successful candidates will learn the time-honoured art of making The Glenrothes and the skills that have been passed down from generation to generation. The winners will spend time working at each stage of the whisky-making process: testing the purity of the water source at the distillery’s two springs; milling the malt to achieve the golden proportions of husk, grits and flour; mashing to ensure maximum extraction of sugars in the wort; adding yeast to the washbacks and overseeing fermentation; slowly and carefully distilling new make spirit in our tall copper pot stills. From there our Vintage Makers will be involved in making casks at the cooperage, laying down casks for maturation and rolling casks to the warehouse.

The Vintage Makers will nose single malt from maturing casks to assess whether the contents are of sufficiently exceptional quality and maturity; only the top 3% of the distillery’s output is bottled as The Glenrothes Speyside Single Malt Whisky. Finally, the Vintage Makers will have the opportunity to create the Vintage 2012 of The Glenrothes, to be released when it reaches the peak of maturity.

After work, our Vintage Makers will enjoy the simple pleasures that Speyside has to offer; a spot of fishing, dining in the local Highland restaurants or perhaps a picnic in the hills surrounding the distillery. The Vintage Makers will stay in Rothes House, a private home belonging to the family that owns The Glenrothes. As with the distillery, Rothes House is not open to the public but is reserved for VIP visits.

Entrants must submit 1500 characters or less in answer to the question ‘Tell us about your Vintage Moment.’ Entrants may also upload a picture or link to an online video to supplement their written entry (but this is not necessary). The winners will be the entries that in the opinion of the judges, best represent the definition of a Glenrothes Vintage Moment: A perfect combination of time, place, people and/or occasion when everything comes together to create a moment that will stay in the memory forever.

www.theglenrothes.com

NOTES

The Glenrothes was founded in 1879
Only 2% of the distillery capacity is bottled as Single Malt to ensure exceptional quality
Of the 17 Vintages released to date, 13 have entirely sold out
It is matured in a combination of Spanish and American oak casks – the best of both worlds
The Glenrothes 1972 was awarded a Trophy at the 2005 International Spirits Challenge
The Glenrothes 1978 was Best Speyside Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2008
“I have always felt that Glenrothes deserved to be more widely appreciated. Beautifully rounded…sophisticated after-dinner malt.” Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion
Jim Murray, in his Whisky Bible, refers to The Glenrothes Select Reserve; “One of the softest deliveries on Speyside, the silky barley and citrus caress the tastebuds with rare tenderness” and scores it 24 out of 25

Awards and accolades for current bottlings:

The Glenrothes Select Reserve
·         Silver medal, International Wine & Spirits Competition 2009
·         Scotch Whisky Master 2008, The Spirits Business
·         Best in Class, World Whiskies Awards 2008

The Glenrothes Robur Reserve
·         Best in Class, International Wine & Spirits Competition 2009
·         Gold, International Spirits Challenge 2009

The Glenrothes Alba Reserve
·         Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2010
·         Silver, International Spirits Challenge 2010

The Glenrothes 1998 Vintage
·         93/100, Excellent/Highly Recommended, Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2011
·         Silver, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2010
·         Silver, International Wine & Spirits Competition 2010

The Glenrothes 1995 Vintage
·         92/100, Excellent/Highly Recommended, Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2011

The Glenrothes 1991 Vintage
·         Best in Class, International Wine & Spirits Competition 2009
·         Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2009

The Glenrothes 1978 Vintage
·         92/100, Excellent/Strong Recommendation, Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2011