Glenrothes bottlings by Duncan Taylor from 1968/1969/1970 casks have proven to be solid choices. This Glenrothes 1970 is closely related to the one bottled for The Nectar (cask #10567) last year.

Glenrothes 35 yo 1970 (43,5%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld 2006, cask #10574, 162 btl.)

Nose: instant fruitiness, with banana, apricot, passion fruits and pineapple. Plenty of youth here. Some green notes (mint, herbs) and spices (cinnamon, vanilla). A little honey. Mouth: gentle attack but not too soft. I get some almonds and fruits, together with oak and spices. Pine resin. Faint hints of sweet gingerbread. Banana. Powdered sugar and a hint of cocoa. Less superb than on the nose, and a tad less complex than sister casks. Finish: long, with apricot marmalade and sweet lemonade.

These old Glenrothes are really recommended, although they are slowly reaching their limits. Keeping them in the cask much longer will cause some of them to drop below the minimum strength (like the Glenrothes 1969 in the Lonach series) or become too woody. Around € 125 at the time. Now difficult to find, but keep your eyes open for similar releases.

Score: 90/100