Finest Scotch Goes to France
There’s a tiny town in Scotland by the river Spey. They call it Rothes and with four distilleries operating there, it has Whisky embedded in its DNA: one of those Whisky-makers is the Glenrothes distillery with its history dating back to 1879. After 140 years, the artisans behind Glenrothes are still committed to creating no-B.S. fine single malts that have been the building blocks of the Speyside Scotch reputation for ages. Their house style is a warming and creamy Scotch, while many of their bottles don’t state the Spirit’s age, but a vintage. Glenrothes expressions are mainly matured in Spanish ex-Sherry casks or barrels that used to hold Bourbon.
With this very expression, though, it’s a different story. The ridiculously rare Wine Merchant’s Collection was first distilled back in 1992, spent over two decades in hogshead casks, and was finally finished in various casks that used to house wines from one of the largest and most imposing French estates in the wine region of Châteauneuf-du-Pape: the ancient Château de Beaucastel. So we’re talking about fine Scotch that inherited sophisticated features of Southern France. But beware, only 261 bottles were ever made.