Our first sherry dram from the La Maison du Whisky’s Artist Series 8 was from The Glen Rothes distillery.

Even our wee nip at Whisky Live Singapore 2018 was enough to establish this as a solid sherry specimen in a beautiful bottle with art by Takehiko Sugawara.

Glenrothes 20 year (1995/2018) Sherry Butt Cask #909700 52.8% (530 bottles)

• Nose – Classic sherry notes with sweet spices, dates, prunes! With a lovely toffee, chocolate orange
• Palate – Full flavoured, well rounded and robust! Loads of sherry dry fruits with and a touch of blue cheese or rancio
• Finish – Sherry, spice and cloves, toast, salty caramel and chocolate

What a whisky! No doubt this dram delivered! If you happen to be in a sherry mood, this one is a marvel…

However with only 530 bottles in existence, available only through La Maison du Whisky, you may find it challenging to track down. Not to mention the pricy price tag at SGD 725.

However I was rather delighted to have a chance to try a quick sample…

Here is what the folks at La Maison du Whisky have to say:

• Nose – Fine, ample. At first, beautiful notes of bitter orange are coated with dark chocolate. This wonderfully classic starter is also composed of red and black fruits (blackberry, strawberry) and noble spices (cardamon, ginger, cinnamon). At aeration, it evolves on precious wood (beeswax), vanilla and leather. Dried fruits (dates, figs) then add complexity to the aromatic palette.
• Palate – Lively, racy. In attack of mouth, the orange releases their juice at the same time sweet and acidulated. Very tense, it reveals notes of salted butter caramel, exotic fruits (guava, persimmon) and creme brûlée. Unveiling gianduja, the mid-palate is also close to malted barley. In the back of the mouth, strawberries and blackberries make a particularly tasty and fleshy taste return.
• Final – Long, balanced. Change of scenery. Heady flowers (iris, purple lilac, peony) make their appearance and perfume the atmosphere of one who also shines by the delicacy of his touch. In retro-olfaction, chocolate and salted butter caramel accompany notes of toasted bread and aromatic plants (chervil, laurel). Original the empty glass lets admire a wood that is reduced to dust giving way to cocoa beans and very ripe bananas.

—- From LMdW website with an imperfect google translation from French.

La Maison du Whisky Artist #8 with Sherry

• Ben Nevis 25 year (1991/2018) Sherry Cask #2375 55.3% (561 bottles)
• Bowmore 15 year (2001/2018) Sherry Cask #108 55.3% (679 bottles)
• Glenlivet 10 year (2007/2018) 1st Fill Sherry Cask #900214 Batch #2 64.1% (308 bottles)
• Bunnahabhain 35 year (1979/2018) Sherry Cask #9521 47.9% (472 bottles)

Want more Glen Rothes tasting notes?

• 9 year “Riding a duck bareback up Mount Etna” (6 June 2007) 64.5% (SWMS 30.94)
• 20 year (Oct 1996/Oct 2016) 54.6% (North Star Series 001)
• 21 year Minister’s Reserve 43%
• Manse Reserve 43%

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