Orange Blossom

Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve

Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve

Glenrothes was founded in 1879 through the work of James Stuart, a local Rothes businessman who began the construction of the distillery, and the Reverend William Sharp, who secured the remaining funds after Stuart was forced to step aside for financial reasons. Though a series of fires, explosions and world events hampered production at times, the distillery has been making whisky for over 140 years for a variety of owners. Much of the Glenrothes stock is aged in ex-sherry casks and some ex-bourbon casks, but like many distilleries, they like to experiment. The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve was part of a now discontinued series from 2016 that saw whisky from their 1992 stock finished for a few months in (unnamed) ex-Islay casks. Apparently this was inspired by an association from the 19th century the distillery had with the Islay Distillery Company.

Balvenie 17 Year Doublewood

Balvenie 17 Year Doublewood

While there are whiskies with age statements and whiskies with cask finishes, less often are they seen together. Even rarer are the combination of the two, especially when they feature the same mix found in a younger offering. Like the iconic Balvenie 12 Doublewood, the Balvenie 17 Doublewood is a mix of whiskies aged in ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks. So, like the younger offering but with an additional five years of maturity. It is always fun to see a distillery copy most of the particulars of one scotch in their portfolio and then only tweak one factor. Most of the time, other factors are changed like differences in cask finishes, so seeing the age be the variable here allows the studied drinker to make a different kind of comparison.