A bounty of single cask 1960s and 1970s Glenrothes from The Last Drop Distillers [Tasted #501 - 507]

As mentioned in my recent post on The Last Drop Distillers' 56yo Blended Whisky, there were a few more samples included in the package along with the blend...and by "a few" I mean 7 individual cask samples of 1968, 1969 and 1970 Glenrothes!

Ordinarily I'd be happy to dive into all of them myself, but I'd been treated to some particularly nice whiskies from Kam at Dram Good Stuff lately, including our 500th whisky tasted on TimeforWhisky.com, so I thought I'd share the love a bit.

Bottled in 2018 (1968), 2019 (1969) and 2020 (1970), the whiskies were all (give or take) 50 years old, and in the case of the 1969 and 1970, were from casks filled on the same day. It's not often you get to try whiskies filled on the same day and matured side-by-side for ~50 years!

Detailed tasting notes were included (some from Charlie Maclean, some from a bloke in a hat...), which made for interesting reading, but really, we were keen to taste for ourselves, so wasting no time, Kam and I got stuck in...

1968

The Last Drop 1968 Glenrothes (cask #13504) (51.2% ABV, 49yo, IB, 1968-2018, 1 of 168 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Martin
Colour: Golden amber.
Nose: Fruity and floral, after time, hints of paprika, pineapple and pot pourri. Old cigar box and interestingly, raspberry coulis!
Palate: Big and zesty - flamed orange peel, followed by an almost BBQ meatiness. Oak shows, but doesn't dominate.
Finish: Long oak tannins emerge, coated in orange wafts of smoke.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100.

The Last Drop 1968 Glenrothes (cask #13508) (50.2% ABV, 49yo, IB, 1968-2018, 1 of 141 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Kam
Nose: Very complex, light sweet smoke infused herbs, lovely minerality .. more sweet smoke with faint floral notes, almond oil, hints of mint (beeswax in the glass when empty )
Palate: Full mouthfeel - spicy and grassy simultaneously, slight bitter tobacco towards the end
Finish: Medium length.
Rating: 92/100.


1969

The Last Drop 1969 Glenrothes (cask #16207) (47.1% ABV, IB, 1969-2019, 1 of 141 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Martin
Colour: Orange sunset.
Nose: Green apple, kiwifruit, banana leaves, rockmelon, overripe bananas, with a hint of sandalwood and honey after time.
Palate: More muted than 1968 #13504, but with more sherry and oak. Rich treacle, old wood, lacquer, cherry, with a chewier, oily, viscous mouthfeel. A hint of mint rounds things out.
Finish: Mint and basil, old oak, leather. Medium in length.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100.

The Last Drop 1969 Glenrothes (cask #16203) (46.3% ABV, 49yo, IB, 1969-2019, 1 of 130 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Kam
Nose: Vibrant with lots of fruit; banana, honeydew melon … grassy herbaceousness, citrus (lime) and hints of raspberry… faint charred oak, cedar chips and almond oil
Palate: Gentle mouthfeel that instantly dries the cheeks, mild spices, nuttiness and honey
Finish: Long but muted.


1970

The Last Drop 1970 Glenrothes (cask #10586) (45.3% ABV, IB, 1970-2020, 1 of 103 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Martin
Colour: Yellow gold.
Nose: Spiced fruit - spiced apple tart, kiwifruit with lemon drizzle. A little heat.
Palate: Banana chews, menthol drops, toffee chews. Slightly "thinner" than the others, with notes of apple, pear and kiwifruit.
Finish: Medium to long length, retaining the previous fruitiness - kiwifruit and nectarines. Old oak cask notes towards the end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100.

The Last Drop 1970 Glenrothes (cask #10588) (44.1% ABV, IB, 1970-2020, 1 of 87 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Martin
Colour: Yellow gold
Nose: Furniture polish, cigar box, sweet vanilla, then rich, creamy chocolate ice cream.
Palate: Spicy, slightly earthy smoke, grassy, with caramel fudge richness coming through after time. Oily, sandalwood hints and chocolate-coated caramel (Fantails). Residual oak notes.
Finish: Medium to long, with sweet toffee fudge, tobacco, mint and grass.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Complex - quite a mixed bag, but it works, well.

The Last Drop 1970 Glenrothes (cask #10589) (45.0% ABV, IB, 1970-2020, 1 of 96 bottles, Speyside, Scotland)
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Tasted by Kam
Nose: Open freshness with summer fruits; guava, peaches .. lots of coconut, shea butter hand cream, hint of sea air.
Palate: Explosive with tastes matching up perfectly with the aromatic notes… warming and full mouthfeel, hints of peaches, almond oil.. mild bitterness at the very end…
Finish: Long and luxurious.

It's not easy to try whiskies this old and rare these days, but to taste so many casks (in some cases filled on the same day) side by side was a real treat - a huge thanks to The Last Drop Distillers!

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #456: The Dalmore L'Anima 49yo (1 of 1 bottling)

When it comes to whisky (as with other things in life, I suppose) the words "rare" and "limited" get bandied about fairly often...and fair enough too. With no formal, legal or singularly accepted definition, "rarity" differs from person to person. Is an 18,000 bottle outturn of a new "limited edition" considered "rare"? For some - yes, for others - no. What about single cask bottlings? What about a fairly accessible whisky (say, Laphroaig 10yo or Macallan Sherry Oak 12yo) but from the 1980s?

What's your threshold for "rarity"?

One thing we can probably all agree on is that if a bottle is released as a single bottle - i.e. a "1 of 1", it rightly deserves the title of "rare".

Enter The Dalmore L'Anima Aged 49 Years - borne out of an encounter between The Dalmore's Master Distiller Richard Paterson, and Chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana (currently the "World's 50 Best" #1 restaurant). The single bottle produced is available only via Sotheby's Auction, with bidding currently at £65,000 and due to end 9th May at 10pm HKT and sold for £108,900. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Bottura's charitable foundation "Food for Soul", which aims to reduce both food wastage and poverty.

The whisky, made from a marriage of 3 cask types (1st Fill ex-Bourbon barrels, 40yo PX casks from Gonzalez Byass and Vintage Port pipes from Graham's) was designed not so much to pair with food, but to reflect the shared passion, or soul ("L'Anima" in Italian) of both Paterson and Bottura. 

(That said, there were definitely a few characteristics on the nose and palate a few of us picked up which you could equate with Italian cooking...)

A very small gathering of whisky lovers and media was fortunate enough to taste the liquid tonight - obviously not from the bottle being auctioned, but from a sample bottle (decanted into The Dalmore decanter seen above). It's fair to say my usual "booze free Monday" tradition was promptly abandoned this week...

With a healthy pour of the 41.5% dram poured (and a second serve, should we wish) I wasted no time diving in nose-first (which is how I spent the next 15 minutes, before taking a sip - such was the complexity and changing nature of the nose).

The Dalmore L'Anima Aged 49 Years (41.5% ABV, 49yo, Highlands, One of 1 bottle, Auction)

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Colour: Deep orange-brown copper.

Nose: Very expressive, right from the outset. Whole oranges, creme brûlée, dark chocolate. But also milk chocolate, mint, charred oak. After some time raspberry notes emerge, along with hints of some of the characteristics of my favourite Italian Amari - artichoke, rhubarb, cardamom and menthol.

Palate: The first thing that hits you is the creaminess. Now I'm not going to say it's a "parmigiano reggiano" creaminess, but it's definitely not the sweet, vanilla ice cream creaminess you find in some whiskies, and I won't lie - given the context, it did remind me of a creamy cheese-laden pasta. Herbal notes follow - mint primarily, followed by spiced oranges, some paprika. Towards the end of the palate you get some hints of drying tannins (no doubt the Port pipes at play), but it's very pleasant and integrates well with everything else. More herbal Amaro notes emerge over time - with menthol and orange peel especially showing.

Finish: Long, creamy and intense. The Port pipes really shine here, bringing a drying (but not too oaky) close.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  93/100. Truthfully, I was expecting to enjoy the experience of this one, but I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the whisky. I'm happy to say it was absolutely fantastic - with huge complexity (something I look for, especially in a whisky of this age), no "off" notes, no signs the whisky had been in the cask too long, and with flavours that work together in perfect harmony.

A fellow taster mentioned it would be a great whisky to match with food (in general), and I'd have to agree. Hopefully the winning bidder opens the bottle and finds out.

Online bidding on The Dalmore L'Anima Aged 49 Years is open now until 9th May (10pm HKT) - see here for details and to place a bid. The L'Anima auction ended with a winning bid of £108,900. The winning bidder also gets a dinner for two at Osteria Francescana, and speaking from experience, it's a dinner they won't forget!

A big thanks to Josh and The Dalmore / Whyte & Mackay for this incredible experience tonight.

Cheers,
Martin.