This is a poor man's Karuizawa. The sulphur is in fact quite charming, at least to me.

A great sherry bomb. Well matured. Absolutely fantastic. Best Glenrothes I ever drank.

Nose: wow - full of sweet sherry. Plum must, raisins and rum punch. a bit earthy fresh wood note, tobacco leaves, dark chocolate and coffee beans in the background. Despite the many dark notes in the core of the whisky, the sweet (PX?) Sherry always remains dominant.
Taste: Holds your nose! Very dark fruit berry compote, dates and sulfurized raisins, the oak needs a bit until it comes through and brings out a nice dark chocolate and strong coffee. The finish is then long with a spicy rum sweetness, a slightly sulphurous and fleshy woody notes and aromatic coffee / tobacco notes.
Okay, that's a sherry bomb. You have to like it but when you look at it the whisky is almost perfect. The alcohol and Brennereicharakter go into the sherry but completely.

Nose: sweet sherry, notes of vanilla, notes of coffee, notes of vanilla
Taste: A well-composed whisky. Dominant notes of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, toffee and caramel. All notes are well-composed. Pleasant to the taste.
Rating: 90 | 100 - Good position with a medium-long finish but nice. Worth seeing

Nose: sweet sherry, notes of vanilla, notes of coffee, notes of vanilla
Taste: A well-composed whisky. Dominant notes of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, toffee and caramel. All notes are well-composed.
Rating: 90 | 100 - Good position with a medium-long finish but nice. Worth seeing

Glenrothes 24 yo 1990/2015 (55.7%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, 966 bottles) Four stars

Let's see if once again, a real small batch (not 30,000 bottles) beats single casks because of some additional complexity.

Colour: coffee. Nose: coffee. I'm not joking, this reeks of coffee (with schnapps), with also a good deal of gunpowder and flints. Quite a lot of burnt black raisins too, very dark caramel, then black tobacco (Gauloises) and touches of leather and perhaps fennel.

With water: burnt cardboard, black cigars (maduros, or this funny cigar made in Italy called Toscani - kills a rhino)... In short everything's quite black.

Mouth (neat): heavy, bitter in a good way, very burnt, with many spicy fruitcakes and loads of muscovado sugar. Cloves and tar. As 'black' as it gets.

With water: becomes kirschy and funnily spicy-fruity. Mulled wine, more burnt sugar.

Finish: very long. Coffee-slivovitz. Comments: a very extreme one, perhaps for lovers of sherry monsters only. Some sides remind me of the old Macallans Cask Strength.

SGP:462 - 87 points.

whiskyfun.com

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Nose:

very strong influence of sherry oloroso, notes typical for sherry cask Glenrothes from the 90s, that is cherries in chocolate, raisins, everything very harmonious, marzipan, completely covered alcohol you can smell it without the feeling of sharp alcohol, feels like an old library, tobacco, leather

Taste:

Just wow! How much is going on here! very oily, cherries, milk chocolate, then came out more dry notes, heavily tobacco, coffee, again library, leather,

Finish:

long, warming, a little sulfur comes out, chocolate again

Score:

really a great whisky, multidimensional, not obvious, the best Glenrothes I've ever tasted - 92/100

This Whisky was sold for 235€ at Whiskyauction in January 2017

This Whisky was sold for 213€ at Whiskyauction in October 2016

A few months of opening and notes of sulfur a little dominant at first melt and a beautiful sherry monster is emerging. Huge, in every sense of the word.

Unfortunately a sulphury one ...

whiskyfun:

Glenrothes 24 yo 1990/2015 (55.7%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, 966 bottles)  Let's see if once again, a real small batch (not 30,000 bottles) beats single casks because of some additional complexity. Colour: coffee. Nose: coffee. I'm not joking, this reeks of coffee (with schnapps), with also a good deal of gunpowder and flints. Quite a lot of burnt black raisins too, very dark caramel, then black tobacco (Gauloises) and touches of leather and perhaps fennel. With water: burnt cardboard, black cigars (maduros, or this funny cigar made in Italy called Toscani - kills a rhino)... In short everything's quite black. Mouth (neat): heavy, bitter in a good way, very burnt, with many spicy fruitcakes and loads of muscovado sugar. Cloves and tar. As 'black' as it gets. With water: becomes kirschy and funnily spicy-fruity. Mulled wine, more burnt sugar. Finish: very long. Coffee-slivovitz. Comments: a very extreme one, perhaps for lovers of sherry monsters only. Some sides remind me of the old Macallans Cask Strength. SGP:462 - 87 points.

This is not just a sherry bomb but also a sulphur bomb (body and finish). Too sulphuric for my personal taste.

Powerful, complex, thick, suffers, black licorice, sherry, coffee, baked apple, sulfur, prune. Ask a drop of water and a lot of time to balance.

This Whisky was sold for 205 € at Whiskyauction in March 2016

Aroma: On the nose intense, sweet sherry, plums, raisins, chocolate and oak.
Taste: On the palate, dark, ripe and sweet fruits with a hint of sulfur. The oak is then also slightly dry and bitter.
Finish: Long, warm, fruity, spicy, again this sulfur note, oak.

Same dark color and almost same strength as the Glenrothes 1980 single cask 17563 which means it's one of the darkest ones available. The characters of both are very similar but the Cadenhead is a tad more dry and bitter in the finish and a bit more meaty with a touch of leather.

It's OK to add quite some water to reduce the burning and get more aromas out of it.

This Whisky was sold for 355€ at Whiskyauction in November 2015

Glenrothes 1990-2015, 24 years, 55.7% alc. Cadenhead's Glenrothes 1990-2015, 24 years, 55.7% alc.
Bottler: Cadenhead's
Expansion: sherry casks
Region: Speyside, Scotland

Limited to 966 bottles

Nose: Thick sherry and despite the strength no alcohol. Rum pot, raisins and other dried red fruits. In addition to dark chocolate, cherries and the smell of cigars in the humidor, very pleasant. With some time, the fruit decreases, the chocolate is stronger and mild coffee aromas are added, cocoa and sweetened cappuccino.

Palate: Even stronger sherry, very fruity and deep, occupies the entire mouth. Dried fruits in dark chocolate, marzipan, raisins, cranberries and currants, maybe even tangerines. The cocoa is then bitter, the coffee comes back, but rather as an espresso, quite strong. The oak wood brings a nice and slightly bitter spiciness, pepper and even some gunpowder.

Finish: Very long and yet pleasantly round. The fruitiness comes back to the beginning again, but then turns quickly into coffee chocolate and nougat chocolates. Then add the seasoning, pepper, chili and red pepper. I also find tobacco again. The oak lingers longer.

Conclusion: Boom - and still a really great Sherrymalt. Dark, intense, multi-layered and without junk notes. Top whisky!

94/100 points (tasted 2015, approx. 125 €)
Thanks to Cadenhead`s Berlin for the rehearsal!
Original post in the blog: http://notesofmalt.de/notes-Speyside/Gle...-24yo,-55,7-CA/

… had to reduce my 92/100 rating;

sulphur became more and more with the months … - tragically !!!

Now maybe 89/100.

Great Sherrybomb... in the best of the words meaning! Recommended!

Another fantastic sherry-bomb from the folks at Cadenheads (remarkably similar to the heavily-sherried Highland Park they released a year or two ago)! Very heavy sherry on the nose, with loads of dark, sweet, rich fruits (berries, sultanas, pears etc) alongside meaty ham, soft oak and a hint of coffee. Great stuff! Similarly huge on the palate, with the sherry being almost chewy. A hint of something spicy and peppery drifts through after the initial sherry 'hit', but with plenty of sweet fruits alongside it to keep things in balance. The spirit does struggle to come through at the start, but with a bit of time it opens up beautifully. A bit dry on the finish, with the sherry never losing its dominance. Great cask selection again from Cadenhead, and bottled at a fantastic age.

Cadenhead's official tasting notes:

Nose: Huge sherry; very meaty with liqueur chocolates. Roasting pan juices with figs and poached pears.
Palate: More massive sherry - grab a knife and fork for this. Lots of marzipan, quite creamy like a sherry trifle and then more meatiness grows.
Finish: Huge sherry tussles with dried oranges, soft black pepper and a little rubber. One for the hardcore sherry fans.