I enjoyed the Select Reserve so much that I was really excited to explore more from The Glenrothes line. I picked up the 1998 bottling.

This whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2013. So it's basically a 15 year. What they don't just call it a 15-year is anyone's guess. Maybe they throw in a splash of 10 or 12-year in there for balance. By Scottish law, if you're going to put an age statement on your whisky, it has to be that of the youngest whisky in the blend. You can't charge 15-year prices for a 10-year.

From The Glenrothes' site:

Bouquet: Rich, spicy vanilla, golden syrup and lemongrass
Palate: Soft, mature, sweet vanilla with a hint of cinnamon
Finish: Smooth, long, rich vanilla

It smells absolutely fantastic. It has a nice whiff of smoke like Highland Park. The Select Reserve is bottled at 40%, this one is 43%. You can definitely smell that extra alcohol tingle in the nose, citrusy with a hint of sweetness. Very smooth and syrupy, but not as much as the Select Reserve. The finish is dry and very bitter. Some describe it as a rhubarb. It definitely has a hot peppery finish. You feel this one going down.

It's a pretty good whisky, but I think it's missing some complexity. I like it, just not as much as the Select Reserve. I really feel like it's missing something. For almost $70, I really thought it was going to blow the non-age statement Select Reserve out of the water. I guess it just goes to show, don't turn your nose up as NAS whiskies. It's not all about the year on the label.