Glenrothes 10 2007 Adelphi

It’s an odd situation when I hear people are waiting for my opinion on what whiskies they should buy.

For one, there’s plenty of places that I go to for reviews. Whiskyfun, various other bloggers, Ralfy, Reddit reviewers, and Whiskybase, to name just a few.

Recently there was a release that popped up in Canada, and it was well reviewed on Whiskybase. I have friends who travel between Ontario and Alberta, so I asked them to pick up a bottle for friends of mine to share.

That bottle? Alberta Einstein. No, wait, that’s a bad pun and mocking an internet trope.

It was actually Glenrothes 10 2007 Adelphi. We were interested in a cask strength Glenrothes from an IB that we like. And it was ex-sherry. What can go wrong?

Ahem. I seem to be setting something up. Shall we see how it tastes, and then perhaps see where my writing is going?

Lets.

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Speyside

Distillation Date: 2007

Bottling Date: 2017

Cask Number: 10235

Outturn: 238 bottles

Abv: 63.9%

Colour: 7.5YR 5/8

Nose: Raisin, strawberry, cinnamon, mint, molasses

Initial nose is lots of sherry influence. Heck, it’s a high proof sherry. Not a sherry bomb, as that would indicate part of this is whisky on the nose.

There’s some mint and a little bit of butter, to be fair. However the raisin is strong here, and the sherry is evident.

Taste: Strawberry, mint, molasses, basil, and twenty pounds of grapes

So you’re touring a winery in the future, and right at that moment, the new harvest of grapes are in. And in front of you, in one basket, there will be twenty pounds of grapes. And you’ll try to taste them and be kicked out.

There, in the future, you’ll understand what this tastes like. It’s all grapes. There’s some herbal notes on varying levels, but it’s all grapes.

Finish: Mint, cherry, funk, prunes, basil, and twenty more pounds of grapes

Goes richer and funkier, and then all that is replaced by grapes. For a bit there’s richness, maybe something there, and maybe something like whisky, and then… grapes.

I guess we could call it the Grapes of Wrath…. yeah that sucked, let’s move on.

Conclusion: Grape bomb. Pure and simple, too much grape, too much sherry influence, not enough whisky. This could be Glenrothes or it could be Glen Elgin or even Glen Herbers, the barber who lives down the hall from me.

That all said, there were some parts around the edges that were tasty. I don’t hate the flavours, it’s just unbalanced. So if you like sherry, but it. Otherwise maybe try others.

76/100

Scotch review #867, Speyside review #251, Whisky Network review #1388