Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve

COLOR/ Pale Honey, Light Apple Cider AROMA/ Apples, Subtle Pear, Ripe Uncut Pineapple, Faint Berries Way Back, Trace Florals Lavender and Magnolia FIRST SIP/ Velvety, Berries, Fruit-Forward, Timber, Hints of Soil TASTE/ Berries, Cherries, Apples, Light Vanilla, Timber (Green and Mature), Some Sap, Exquisite Smoothness, Lingering at the Palate's End, you must actively seek it, A Faint Yeasty, Malty, Dough Rising Taste FINISH/ The tastes are intricate, strong, unhurried on your palate allowing for full enjoyment. A Timber Finish with mild alcohol heat. MT GLASS/ Sugary Wood, Pineapple, Touches of Coconut, Touches of Floral and Lavender This is from a 2015 Three Bottle Reserve release set. 1/3 (Second favorite of the 3) This, my companions, is an impressively robust Speyside Single Malt scotch, entirely without peat! The intricacy of this drink is astonishing. So many flavors, aromas, and tastes emerge that it's suitable for any event; certainly gather your pals, kin, and dearest ones and present this truly amazing drink to them. I suspect a small ice cube would unlock even more tastes and layers. Be Kind, Be Generous, Be Genuine, Drink Responsibly!!! CH33RS

The color is a light honey yellow; the scent suggests ripe corn. The legs are beautifully thick, clinging to the inside of the glass. The aroma is absolutely wonderful: pear, ripe green apple skins. Coconut and vanilla; honey, dried plums. Toasted cereal grains and hay. There's a burnt brown sugar that evokes browned butter. Crème brûlée. It's fragrant, like flowery linens? Just a trace of paint thinner. This could easily be made into a candle. The flavor includes vanilla and crème. Coffee grounds and malted grain. Nutty, like almonds or marzipan? Pear, honey, and apple. The finish carries a sherry-like tannic quality. The aftertaste has earthy herbs: brown autumn leaves; heather? It's slightly ashy and metallic. I've heard of candle-wax in whisky before, but this might be my first time experiencing it. Nutty coffee grounds and mocha. The Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve is a very smooth and welcoming Scotch, filled with flavors and aromas that might be more at home in a Yankee Candle store than a Glencairn glass. It offers vanilla, coconut, pear, and apple; then a nutty, earthy element balances it. I was initially put off by the grenade-shaped bottle, but I'm delighted I decided to open it.

A considerable time ago, one of the initial "serious" whisky bottles I acquired for a companion was a bottle of Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve. Back then, it was purely due to the bottle's appealing and distinctive appearance. What fortunate timing that turned out to be, as this whisky ignited my preference for single malts aged in bourbon casks. While not generally considered a complex whisky, Glenrothes bourbon cask reserve is sweet and mild. It presents a flavor profile not commonly found in most bourbon cask whiskies and is definitely worth trying. The nose offers vanilla aromas, but I also detect a faint trace of red fruits, possibly some berries. This is unusual for a whisky matured solely in former bourbon casks. It almost has a slightly tart scent. That subtle tartness and fruitiness carry over to the taste, which seems surprisingly red fruit-dominant for a Bourbon Cask, but there's a touch of sweet spice, like cinnamon. The finish is dry and almost a bit waxy on the palate, with just a slight tannic quality. This is a bright, cheerful whisky. It lacks significant complexity but is a pleasant drink and, frankly, a bit of a bargain.

This whisky is precisely what its name suggests – but a lighter version. There's nothing remarkable about the nose – you get standard bourbon cask notes of tannin-fueled oak with vanilla. The aroma is actually quite rich, but the palate sadly let me down. It's watery at first and then becomes bitter. Not a pleasant bitterness from an interesting cask, but an unpleasant one. It actually tastes like a whisky you accidentally diluted too much. I didn't even finish my 4cl sample, which is a real shame because I'd been looking forward to trying a Glenrothes whisky for about a year. I'll revisit this distillery in the future, but with a more mature and interesting cask style. 2.0 because the nose was enjoyable.

This was purchased on promotion for $35, down from $50. I've had good experiences with scotch aged in bourbon casks previously, but this one failed to impress. The aroma presents canned pear, malt, vanilla, and barrel notes, yet it's all quite delicate. The taste offers hints of vanilla coconut cream, barley malt, a touch of pencil lead, and burnt wood. Sounds appealing, correct? However, it's somewhat diluted and lacking body, with flavors that are only superficial. The finish is slightly sour malt with some astringent tannins. A faint coconut essence lingers, which is somewhat pleasant. It's possible I received a flawed bottle (mine appears much paler than online images). Ultimately, it doesn't satisfy me, even at the reduced price of $35, let alone $50. Rating: 69/100. It still possesses some single malt characteristics preventing it from being completely stored away.

It's better than average. Lower alcohol content and smooth. My Rating System: Two Stars: "I'd rather be drinking lite beer." Two 1/2 Stars: "Posh rubbish." Three Stars: "I love whisk(e)y. This is average love." Three 1/2 Stars: "May buy again." Four Stars: "I've got to get you into my life." Four 1/2 Stars: "Better than drugs." Five Stars: "Life is good. Whisky makes it better."