Glenrothes the distillery was built in 1878 in Rothes, Speyside, but Glenrothes the brand that we recognise today was developed a little more recently, in 1994, after wine and spirit merchant Berry Bros & Rudd (BBR) took ownership of the distillery in 1993.
Rather than putting an age statement on each whisky in the range the wine merchant, inspired by the vintages of French Chateau bottled wines, launched Glenrothes by vintage. The idea behind its vintage-only range was of course to select the best casks from one particular year but also a greater variety of expression than was possible with existing age statement single malts. Each vintage that was bottled would have its own personality whilst retaining the character of the Glenrothes liquid. This is a thread common to vintages of fine wine. Each vintage was finite. Once sold, it would be replaced by another.
Since 2017 when the Glenrothes brand was sold to The Edrington Group, the new owners reverted to age statements making these vintages increasingly rare. There are 28 expressions in the vintage series ranging from 1971 to the most recent vintage, a 2001, and the collection includes the extremely limited 1974 vintage.
A complete collection being sold at the April auction comes from the customers’ private reserve warehouse within the BBR properties where it has been held since bottling. The collection covers all the vintages sold whilst under the ownership of BBR and includes eight ‘doubles’ where a second vintage was created a few years after the first. The different set of tasting notes reflect the different styles of the bottlings.
This is the first complete set to be made available on Whisky.Auction.
Glenrothes 1971
Rich, fruity, liquorice
The Glenrothes 1971 Restricted Release, bottled in 1999, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1972
Rich, spicy, fruitiness
The Glenrothes 1972 Restricted Release, bottled in 1996, 70cl, 43% ABV
Aromatic, spicy, Seville oranges
The Glenrothes 1972, bottled in 2004, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1972, bottled in 2004 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1973
Rich, aromatic, hints of orange peel
Glenrothes 1974
Fruity, citrus peel, floral top notes
The Glenrothes 1974, bottled in 2003 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1975
Rich fruits, citrus, nutty, toffee, vanilla
The Glenrothes 1975, bottled in 2006, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1975, bottled in 2006 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1976
Blackberry, hints of vanilla
The Glenrothes 1978 Restricted Release, bottled in 1999, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1978
Rich vanilla, fruit compote, intense spice
The Glenrothes 1978, bottled in 2008, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1978, bottled in 2008 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1979
Delicate, peaty undertones
The Glenrothes 1979, bottled in 1995, 70cl, 43% ABV
Rich, full aroma, ripe red orange
The Glenrothes 1979, bottled in 2002, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1979, bottled in 2002 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1981
Rich fruitiness, cinnamon hints
The Glenrothes 1981, bottled in 1999, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1982
Ripe, fruity, vanilla notes
The Glenrothes 1982, bottled in 1996, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1982, bottled in 1997, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1982, bottled in 1999, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1984
Fragrant, sherry overtones
The Glenrothes 1984, bottled in 1995, 70cl, 43% ABV
Full, spicy, oak and vanilla
The Glenrothes 1984, bottled in 2002, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1984, bottled in 2002 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1984, bottled in 2003, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1984, bottled in 2003 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1985
Aromatic, slight spicyness
The Glenrothes 1985, bottled in 1997, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1985, bottled in 1998, 70cl, 43% ABV
Rich, creamy, dried fruits
The Glenrothes 1985, bottled in 2005, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1985, bottled in 2005 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1985, bottled in 2006, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1985, bottled in 2006 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1987
Rich flavour, velvety
The Glenrothes 1987, bottled in 1999, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1987, bottled in 2000, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1987, bottled in 2000 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Citrus, orange zest, vanilla notes
The Glenrothes 1987, bottled in 2002, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1987, bottled in 2002 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1987, bottled in 2003, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1988
Rich candied orange peel, fruit compote
The Glenrothes 1988, bottled in 2009, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1989
Mellow, oak and dried fruits
The Glenrothes 1989, bottled in 2000, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1989, bottled in 2001, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1989, bottled in 2001 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1989, bottled in 2002, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1989, bottled in 2002 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1991
Berry fruits, vanilla and butterscotch
The Glenrothes 1991, bottled in 2005, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1991, bottled in 2005 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1991, bottled in 2006, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1991, bottled in 2006 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Berry fruits, vanilla and butterscotch
The Glenrothes 1991, bottled in 2011, 100cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1992
Fruity, ripe black plums & liquorice
The Glenrothes 1992, bottled in 2004, 10cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1992, bottled in 2004, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1992, bottled in 2004 fro USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1992, bottled in 2005, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1992, bottled in 2005 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Enticingly fruit, cooked citrus, creamy vanilla
The Glenrothes 1992 Second Edition, bottled in 2014, 70cl, 44.3% ABV
The Glenrothes 1992 Second Edition, bottled in 2014 for USA market, 75cl, 44.3% ABV
Glenrothes 1994
Soft ripe fruits, toffee & lemon citrus
The Glenrothes 1994, bottled in 2006, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 1994, bottled in 2006 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1995
Red fruits, butterscotch, citrus and spice
Glenrothes 1995, bottled in 2011, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 1995, bottled in 2011 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Sweet creamy vanilla, lemon zest and melon
The Glenrothes 1995 American Oak, bottled in 2016, 70cl, 45% ABV
Glenrothes 1998
Lemon citrus, rich vanilla, cinnamon hints
The Glenrothes 1998, bottled in 2009, 70cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 2001
Sweet oaky vanilla, black cherries & soft spices
The Glenrothes 2001, bottled in 2013, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 2001, bottled in 2013 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 2001, bottled in 2014, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 2001, bottled in 2014 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
Glenrothes 2004
Mango, citrus, sweet oaky vanilla
The Glenrothes 2004, bottled 2017, 70cl, 43% ABV
The Glenrothes 2004, bottled 2017 for USA market, 75cl, 43% ABV
