Glenrothes 20 Years Old The Duchess Shieldmaiden Lagertha Cask10/1996 52.8% 1996

Professional reviews

BOW (87)

Maltfascination.com:
The third Shieldmaiden bottling is a bourbon cask matured Glenrothes, a curiosity in its own right. Compared to the previous release, the Ardbeg (Shieldmaiden Malin) it’s a very affordable whisky, clocking in at . In the current climate this is a very fair price for a 20 year old single cask.

The nose starts with quite a lot of alcohol, but is also warm and shows hints of freshly sawn oak. Quite warm, with straw and slightly bitter hints of pear peels. Fresh bread. All in all a rather light nose. The palate is much more spicy with lots of oak. Rather sharp and dry with fresh oak, apples, pears and straw. Baked apple too. The finish is fruity again, with apple juice, apple and soft pear. Some red fruits too, and rather long.

A nice and unorthodox Glenrothes, that’s very much worth a taste. I can imagine this being a surprising whisky to a lot of Glenrothes fanatics, but in a very good way. Quite an interesting dram, that can handle a drop of water.

Serge Valentin (87)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: a fine, rather citric and chalky natural Glenrothes, with good grasses and fruit peelings in the background. With water: very lovely, pure, on lemons, limestone, oatcakes, grist and grapefruits. Mouth (neat): a fine, rather citric and chalky natural Glenrothes, with good grasses and fruit peelings in the background. Sorry about any echoes. With water: more citrus, chalk, then oils (linseed) and a little paraffin. Finish: rather long, very zesty and chalky. Comments: excellent, refreshing, very vertical. Anything citrus is perfect anyway.

OTHER (86)

words of whisky:

Nose: Fresh lemon yoghurt and… well, really plenty of lemon indeed! Clean, fresh, and inviting with subtle notes of vanilla, wet grass, and stewed apples. Not very complex, but a profile that suits me and is well-balanced to boot.

Taste: Nice, creamy mouthfeel. There’s apple sauce, cinnamon and some cane sugar, followed by bitter oak. Finally some black pepper and cloves, as well as a touch of menthol.

Finish: A lingering spiciness, with a fruity encore (pears, apples). Medium in length.

Rating: 86

An attractive and balanced nose, with a palate that’s a tad too spicy for me. Overall a good dram.