Glenrothes Soleo Collection 18 Year

This pour was part of a free store tasting by Petite Cellars. Over 100 bottles of whisky were on offer for free. No brand representatives. Nobody trying to sell you anything. Just let the liquid speak for itself - awesome. With my wife, we ended up trying: This bottle Macallan 18 year fine oak Ardbeg 13 year chieftains cask strength Bunnahabhain 29 year John Milroy cask strength Kilchoman private single bourbon cask Compass Box The Spaniard Glen Scotia 15 year Out of those, we ended up buying this bottle for 125 USD. It was our combined favorite. My personal favorite was the Glen Scotia, but my wife hated it. With sherry cask maturation these days, you are happy to take “seasoning” just to avoid sulfur notes. This one had no sulfur. The sherry did not have the toe-curling depth that probably no longer exists in affordable contemporary Scotch, but I did get a burst of caramel popcorn on the palate, and candied ginger on the finish. It was unexpected to have a genuine memory evoked, and not reaching for notes. “I almost get a bit of...” blah, blah, blah. No. This dram lets you have a solid narrative. It gave something, when I expected nothing, and I bought a bottle to discover some more. This completely blew away the Mac 18 fine oak, by the way, which was priced $100 higher. I think I will talk about that next review.

Nose: weak, apple and pear fruit salad, vanilla, light sherry. Palate: very delicate, vanilla, honey and chamomile. Light and pleasant. Final: short, vanilla-flavored, tends to leave few traces. A whisky undoubtedly pleasant, light, but which I would define as having no excessive character and certainly not unforgettable. Rating 3.50 ________________________________________________________ Naso: deboluccio, macedonia di mele e pere, vaniglia, leggero sherry. Palato: molto delicato, vaniglia, miele e camomilla. Leggero e piacevole. Finale: breve, alla vaniglia, tende a lasciare poche tracce. Un whisky senza dubbio piacevole, leggero, ma che definirei di non eccessivo carattere e non certo indimenticabile. Voto 3,50

Truly delicious! Has notes of vanilla, ginger, rose, orange and pear, as advertised. In addition, this new Soleo Collection release has an amazingly deep taste - and aroma - of soft, chewy caramel. The kind of soft, chewy, homemade, melts-in-your-mouth individually wrapped caramel sold occasionally at speciality stores. This was my first Glenrothes, and it’s a knock-out. Not a sherry-bomb, but rather the perfect amount of sweetness, with far more depth than I expected based on color alone (as compared to some of the other 18-year old whiskies I’ve imbibed over the years). This one is a keeper and will now occupy the sacred top-shelf area of my cupboard along with three or four other elderly (18-25 year) Scottish cousins.

Nose: Rich, orange, vanilla, cherry bakewell tart Palate: Orange, ginger, pepper, allspice, black pepper, stewed and dried fruits. Oak, vanilla, toffee and slightly chocolate. Finish: Long finish. Orange and pear sweetness. Black and white pepper, ginger syrup. Oak and vanilla on the aftertaste, but retaining much of the orange sprightliness of the spirit. This is a gentle and very pleasing dram. There's the orange and vanilla house style you'd expect, with a load of oak and vanilla and a little ginger spice. It's not an adventurous dram at all, but silky gentle and very easy drinking. Lovely.

I can't believe i have never had the popular and not-so-expensive Glenrothes 18yo, a bottle that somehow has been avoiding me. On the nose, i get crushed almonds, hazelnut. I can describe it as an almond bubblegum. Cherries maraschino. Bubble gum. The palate was a little dissapointing. Paper, almonds and strawberry jam. Aftertaste follow the same (kinda boring) rythm. Almonds, hazelnut, grass. Overall, this wasn"t what i was expecting at all. I was truly dissapointed by it, too simple, boring and forgettable. It lacks emotion and tasting and aroma notes. My score for it is a 77 over 100

Glenrothes 18 Colour is amber gold Nose: 4/5 mild proof, sweet, honey, slight glue, lemon, grapes, red apple, bit sour, but ain’t creamy, super fruity, floral,peanut, nutty. Palate: 2.75/5 very light, watery. Little coating, but bitter, spice Finish: 3/5 standard, no additional flavours Adding water and letting it sit: Nose: 4.25/5 grassy, minty but not spicy Palate: 3.75/5 sweet, full but ain’t creamy, still some bitter notes, but also has little sweetness at the back Finish: 4/5 a small hint of sweetness and some sweet oak, mouth watering, little dry coat. Length: 3.75/5