The Glenrothes 2001 Review
In Depth Review
When the Edrington group comes to mind, you’d be forgiven for not immediately thinking of The Glenrothes. Not when they are also responsible for The Macallan, Highland Park, or the Famous Grouse blend. Glenrothes is located in the heart of Speyside in the town of Rothes. Began in 1879, the Glenrothes has been coveted for its high quality spirit for decades. And for some of those years, the Glenrothes bucked the age statement trend and instead created “vintages” of whiskies that highlighted different ages and characters. The goal with these vintages was to show “maturity of flavors” without using a specific age statement. These vintages feature whiskies all distilled from the same year, and blended together and released as a limited edition. The Glenrothes abandoned these “vintages” in 2018, and has since gone back to a core range that features a 10, 12, 18, 25, and 50 year old (can you really call a 50 year old whisky part of the core range?). But since this 2001 vintage mini was bottled all the way back in 2012, we can assume it is a blend of 11 year old whiskies. And with a 43% ABV and the likely use of chill filtering and color added, I’m not quite sure what to expect from this limited release. So let’s dive in and find out if this 2001 expression deserved to sit on the shelf for all those years.
Age: 11 years
ABV: 43%
Cask: Not disclosed
MSRP: $70
Distillery Name: The Glenrothes
Review Date: 3/6/22
Color: Light Gold
Nose: The nose starts off relatively light with apple peel, perfume notes, seaweed, rosewater and sweet puff pastry. Even after letting it rest for a few minutes it remains crisp and refreshing, with some more light fruity notes mixed with crumble cookie.
Palate: The palate features graham cracker, strawberries, and vanilla cream notes. A maltiness comes through as well, giving an insight into some of the spirit characteristics of the Glenrothes. The palate remains malty, sweet, and really does remind me of a lovely French pastry filled with strawberry and cream. The mouthfeel is excellent here, with a creamy character that envelopes the tongue well. This could really benefit from a step up in ABV though, as the current 43% ABV provides little in the way of spice or heat. The palate is less of a journey – and more of a peek into the supple and sweet Speyside character.
Finish: Continuing with the easy going nature of this 2001 vintage, the finish also is light and easy. And while the finish is over pretty quick, there’s a flash of vanilla and malt coming through before the finish evaporates. The notes of strawberries and cream from the palate are replaced with subtle oak and the slightest hint of smoke.
Final Thoughts: The Glenrothes 2001 isn’t a whisky to write home about. It’s good and refreshing without breaking new ground. The strawberries and cream on the palate was a fun touch, but I wish it had a bit more oomph in the form of a higher ABV. At least give some subtle spice to keep it interesting after the first few sips. It almost becomes forgettable while drinking it. Because of this, I think I could start a night with a full bottle only to drink through it in entirety without even realizing.
But that’s exactly what some drinkers would prefer from their scotch. So if you wanted a solid example of Speyside with its soft and fruity flavors, this would be a pretty good choice. However, with an MSRP of around $70, I find it hard to justify considering many of the other Speysiders available for around the same price (or even less). I expected more here. If I had to buy a Glenrothes – I would instead go for the Select Reserve and save a sizable chunk of change.
