The first of three bottles drained at the recent drinking event was an 8 year old single malt from the Glen Rothes distillery, bottled at 43% abv by Gordon & McPhail’s. The selection of this bottle was based mostly on economy- we wanted an affordable malt that would set the table for the older, costlier drams to follow (Lagavulin 12 yo cask strength, I’m talking to you). As it turned out, this is much more than just a cheapie in the now rare category of single malts under $35.
With a slighly rusty color and texture, this dram was a surprise starter with lots of character and depth for an “entry level” malt. As with all of the GM bottlings I’ve sampled, it was well balanced and relatively dry. A bit of something herbal on the nose, and a smooth, clean finish was all to the good. To be honest, there wasn’t anything to dislike about this dram- a good bottle to keep the cabinet well stocked with an accessible whiskey yet with enough unique “terroir” to raise it above the level on any blend (that means you Johnny Black) and most similarly priced single malts. That is, if memory serves correctly- it has been over a week since tasting it, and my liberal attitude towards single malts (they are all good) may cloud the critical thinking a bit. Regardless of that, this bottle has also been well received by the professional scotch cognoscenti- check out THIS REVIEW for more background on the bottling process and another opinion of how the whiskey tastes.
What did you think?
Lagableogh 
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