Glenrothes Sherry Cask Reserve
The Glenrothes distillery is guided by what it calls its four corners: Water, Slow Distillation, Sherry Seasoned Casks, and Natural Color. The distillery also relaunched its brand recently, doing away with the previous method of categorizing its line and returning age statements. This is a refreshing choice given how many brands are going in the opposite direction. While the current line is mostly age statements, however, the Glenrothes Sherry Cask Reserve is from before the relaunch and, as the name would indicate, entirely aged in ex-sherry casks. It first appeared in 2014. We bought the bottle some time before this review went live, so what was once an easy introduction to a sherried single malt is now about a discontinued offering.
Old Pulteney 13 Year Single Cask
Old Pulteney is called the “Maritime Malt” and lies in the town of Wick, the northernmost distillery on the mainland of Scotland. Founded in 1826, the distillery was remote enough early on to rely on the sea for the movement of its whisky. Named after the local founder of the Pulteneytown area of Wick, Sir William Pulteney, The distillery closed in 1930 for around 20 years but has been in production ever since, often with a revolving selection of award-winning single malts. The popular 21 year expression was discontinued recently and a new core range was introduced. This Old Pulteney 13 Year offering is a single cask selection made by Ace Spirits.
Glenrothes Vintage 1998
The Glenrothes has a way of categorizing their scotch that is markedly different than most other distilleries. Rather than bearing a standard age statement or name in lieu of one, the Glenrothes labels their offerings by the year in which the barrels were first laid down. The bottle details tell you when the scotch was bottled, letting you do your own math to figure out the age. The Vintage 1998 is from their Core Vintage line, though there are Reserve, Special Release, and Classic lines too.