Review: Glenrothes Select Reserve Scotch Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on May 1, 2012

The Glenrothes Whisky is a good example of a typical Speyside Scotch Whisky. It carries malt and spice at the forefront of its flavour, and because of its well-rounded ‘speyside’ character this malt has been in use for decades as one of the important blending whiskies in some of the most famous Scottish Blends such as Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse. In fact, if you are a blended Scotch drinker and feel the inclination to move to the Single Malts, you will find the Glenrothes Blends to be an excellent introductory malt in which to begin the journey.

The Select Reserve was blended by Malt Master “John Ramsey” to serve as the signature malt to represent the character of the Glenrothes Distillery. In order to capture the essence of Glenrothes, the Malt Master used whiskies from a variety of vintages, and from a variety of aged oak barrels (both Spanish Oak and American Oak). Thus a spectrum of flavours from this variety of ages and oak is apparent in the final single malt blend. The whisky carries no age statement as the selection of casks from which to construct the final blend is based upon the final taste profile not upon the age of the selected casks.

Here is an excerpt from my review (written in December 2009):

“… Vanilla and oak spies are met by a wave of fruity sweetness, which when combined with the anise and heather, creates a banquet of complex flavour in the mouth. The Select Reserve is a blend of Scotch of differing ages, and barreled in differing oaks. This, I am sure, gives rise to the abundance of complexity…”

You may read my full review here: