Glenrothes distillery is located in the Speyside town of Rothes, Morayshire and was founded in 1879 by a partnership that soon evolved into William Grant & Co. This is not the same William Grant of Glenfiddich fame!

In 1887 they merged with Islay Distillery Co. to form The Highland Distillers Co. Ltd

In 1898 the number of stills was doubled from two to four.

1903 & 1922 Saw two big fires in the distillery and then in the warehouses.

The number of stills was increased to six in 1963 and then to eight in 1980 but as that didn't seem to be enough, they added two more 1989 to make a total of ten stills.

Glenrothes now has an annual capacity of 5.6 million litres of pure alcohol.

Glenrothes is now owned by the 1887 Co. Ltd which is a partnership between Highland Distillers & Edrington.

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

My thanks to Teun van Wel for permission to copy and use the distillery picture

General whisky characteristics: Smooth, complex, rich & floral with honey and nuts

Independent Bottlers

Kirsch, Glenrothes, 9y, distilled 5.7.90, bottled 15.2.2000, 43% ABV

(Kirsch is a German importer & IB)

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Amber

Nose: Primarily butterscotch with nuts and just a hint of very aromatic, floral paintstripper.

Palate: The butterscotch and nuts from the nose are initially evident along with a slightly spirity tingle which lingers into the finish.

With 4 drops of water in almost 2cl: The nose is weakened and loses the paintstripper, whereas the palate is livened even more and offers much more tingle.

Finish: Long and repetitive.

Overall Impression: Despite my paintstripper comment, this is an enjoyable dram with lots of flavour, albeit not so complex. This is a 9y Glenrothes and I often say I prefer the much smoother richness which this distillery tends to offer in older whiskies nearing and above 20y.

Chieftain's, Glenrothes, 10y, 1992-2003, 46% ABV

Casks 90121-3

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Dark gold

Nose: Initially faint nuts, very slowly expanding to being less faint and opening to include hints of butterscotch.

Palate: Smooth, perfumed butterscotch and very light toffee.

Finish: It seems to fade quickly, then comes back for a second attempt. Medium to long.

Overall Impression: This has the promise of a very good dram, it is good, but I still feel it should be allowed to mature for a few more years. It has no unpleasant youthful spiciness, it is just a little faint yet.

D. Laing 'Old Malt Cask', Glenrothes, 19y, 1986, 50% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: very soft and creamy with hints of nuts

Palate: Wonderfully smooth. Warm and luxurious on the tongue with cream and gentle nuts.

Overall Impression: I do normally like Glenrothes and I tend to prefer ones over 17y. This 19y did not disappoint! By far the best dram of the evening, pure luxury in a glass and a very worthy dram to be the first in my new Spiegelau glasses presented to me last night.

D. Laing 'Old Malt Cask', Glenrothes, 27y, 50% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

The photo shows the typical OMC presentation and is not this 27y Glenrothes

Nose: Distinct hints of vinegar! (what went wrong here?)

Palate: Absolutely no evidence of the vinegar from the nose, just very long, very smooth, lots of sherry and honeyed nuts in the background.

Overall Impression: A very enjoyable dram to drink, but what happened with that nose?

Weiser, Glenrothes, 16y, 1988, 46.2% ABV

'Vintage Cask' selection

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Pungent gin (another strange nose from a Glenrothes?)

Palate: Pungent (carried over from the nose), bitter-sharp, lacking in any depth of flavour but really quite salty.

Finish: It really could do with one.

Overall Impression: I do normally like Glenrothes, what went wrong here?

D. Laing, Glenrothes / Ardbeg "Double Barrel" 10y, 46% ABV

Is it Glenrothes, is it Ardbeg?

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

"Dram-atics" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Yellow gold (9ct)

Nose: Gentle smooth peat and quite maritime with salty, sea-air

Palate: Very smooth and malty but only very light peat

Finish: Again very smooth, very long and malty with only traces of peat

Overall Impression: The nose definitely tends toward Ardbeg whereas the palate is much more Glenrothes. Is it an Ardbeg? Is it a Glenrothes? Maybe? Individually, both of these are excellent whiskies, but together? Not really. This whisky can't decide what it wants to be and as a result I find it rather confusing and disjointed.