This month Charles reviews the Glenrothes Vintage 1991.

I introduced myself to the Glenrothes Vintage 1991 while watching ‘Downton Abbey' - the un-missable (at least in my household) Sunday night drama set in a very large country house in Yorkshire during the First World War - and the two have become hopelessly muddled in my mind.

Both the house and the whisky are imbued with a combination of calm and drama. The calm in the house, even during the turmoil of war, is manifested by the formal and steady rhythm of daily life; the drama by the certain knowledge that this way of life will be shattered forever by the war.

It may seem strange to describe a whisky as ‘calm', but for me the flavour of the Vintage 1991 can be summed up as ‘comforting' - in the same way that nursery food or a favourite armchair are comforting. It has a mellow roundness, an understated richness of character, a perfectly integrated flavour complex, within which no one flavour is allowed to dominate.

And the drama? This is leant by a surprising ginger note, discernible in the aroma, but especially apparent in the finish, which is warming and spicy.

How has this flavour profile been achieved? Glenrothes is a rich spirit which lends itself to maturation in European oak casks. Such casks have a looser grain than American oak casks (in which most malt whisky is matured), and this allows tannins in the wood to leach into the spirit, giving it a deep colour like polished mahogany and developing flavours which are often compared to Christmas cake and dark chocolate. I detect both in the Glenrothes 1991, and the colour of the whisky also speaks of European oak.

Tannins are highly astringent, so the texture tends to be ‘mouth drying' and the overall taste can be bitter. Neither is apparent in Vintage 1991, and this suggests to me that the European oak casks have been balanced by American oak, which is sweeter and typically confers coconut, vanilla and toffee-like flavours upon the spirit. Again, I detect all these in this whisky.

Glenrothes Distillery is owned by the Edrington Group (which also owns The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse), but the single malt is bottled exclusively by Berry Bros. & Rudd, the highly distinguished and long-established firm of wine merchants on St. James's Street, London.
Because they are wine merchants, they choose to declare an occasional ‘vintage year', rather than bottling with an age statement, 20 years old in this case.

The Glenrothes' Brands Heritage Director, Ronnie Cox, one of the leading personalities in the Scotch whisky industry, confirmed my suspicions about the casks used for the Vintage 1991. "The cask make-up is 60% refill Spanish oak ex-sherry butts and 40% first fill American oak ex-sherry hogsheads. The predominant vanilla/butterscotch flavours come from the first fill American oak first casks, while the Spanish oak refills enrich of the Glenrothes character".

He went on to remind me that, as with all vintages of Glenrothes, once the casks have been selected and vatted together the whisky is filled into ‘neutral' casks (i.e. casks which will not affect the flavor) to ‘marry' for a period of time. Marrying was a common practice in days gone by, but is now rare. In this case, I think it has contributed significantly to the superb integration of flavours I mentioned above.

Mellow and reflective, complex yet subtle, engaging and easy to drink - especially when you're watching a mellow, reflective, complex, subtle and engaging film like ‘Downton Abbey'!

Tasting Notes: Deep amber, like Golden Syrup. A soft, rich aroma, initially reminiscent of steamed syrup sponge, with stem ginger - even a hint of gingery prickle. Beyond this there are some slightly musty dry sherry and beeswax furniture polish notes; a drawer in a desk, a leather-bound library book. A splash of water reveals dried heather flowers, melted toffee - perhaps crème brulee or sticky toffee pudding with vanilla custard, and just a hint of orange peel and white pepper. The overall impression is ‘comforting'.

At full strength the texture is smooth and creamy, and the taste sweet, with light orange-peel acidity at the sides of the tongue, drying slightly, with coconut, chocolate and gingery spice in the lengthy finish. Warming. At reduced strength, these tastes are still apparent - including the warming gingery effect - but at reduced levels.

Occasion: For quaffing or contemplation - preferably in a deep armchair when the nights are drawing in.

A perfect ‘comfort dram', as cosy as a cashmere blanket.