Glenrothes Soleo Collection Whisky Maker’s Cut, 2018

Rating31.5/40
OriginSpeyside, Rothes
DistilleryGlenrothes
OwnerEdrington Group
SeriesSoleo Collection
EditionWhisky Maker’s Cut
StyleSingle Malt
Cask1st Fill Sherry
Bottled2018
Strength48.8% (97.6 Proof)
WhiskybaseWhiskybase
Wine SearcherWine-Searcher

Glenrothes’ “Whisky Maker’s Cut” is the only NAS release in the Speyside distillery’s 2018 Soleo Collection series. The whisky was matured entirely in 1st fill sherry casks.

Nose: Sticky sweet sherry syrup oozes through my nose leaving behind a thin crust of brown sugar. Not too complex but nice enough. (7/10)

Palate: This is where the money is. Quite rich, not as sticky sweet as the nose, satisfyingly expansive. Some interesting bright sparkles flicker about the back of the roof of my mouth. Once again simple but good. (8/10)

Finish:  Immediately coats the back of the upper throat with lots of gooey sherry flavors only to vanish on its way down leaving nothing much but a faint hot spot in the lower regions of the chest. Quite nice, actually, but I wish it was reaching deeper. At long last some bitter residue layers up between tongue and roof of mouth. That bit is… interesting but not exactly pleasant. 8/10

Balance: Quite nice and surprisingly bold for a mid-range Glenrothes, many of which have turned out to be… uninteresting… at times. This is a very respectable offering albeit slightly simplistic except for the finish. (8/10)