Glenrothes 33 Years Old The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd. VA.MA. Bergamo Import Distiled: 1967 Bottled: 2000 48.5% 1967

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (92)

This baby from their famous Castles series. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s rather a ‘crystalline’ one again, in the style of the JMcA, except that a part of the fruits got tropical, which happens quite often with old bottles. Now many tropical fruits were to be found in 1960s distillations, so perhaps a matter of yeast rather than anything else. What were they using? So, mangos, bananas, apples, then a little camphor, menthol cigarettes, leather grease, a few drops of soy sauce, and just one of properly-aged genuine balsamic vinegar. A fantastic nose, I have to say. Mouth: an amazing fruity arrival, with, well, just the same fruits, in the very same proportions. And then come the cough syrup, the mint drops, the pinesap, and superb notes of tangerines. Amazingly fresh, complex, firm and light at the same time. As we sometimes say, it’s dangerously drinkable, but no worries, these bottles are now very hard to find. Finish: medium; perhaps a tad oaky now. A lot of tea. Loses one or two points at this stage. Comments: really amazing. And we’ll have to check which kinds of yeast they were all using in 1964-1967.

Words of Whisky (88)