Straight into the second bottle, an Octave bottling of a Glenrothes 9yr old. Known for their smile size, approximately an eighth of the size of a sherry butt, typically holding 40-50L. producing small batches. What’s the significance of an Octave cask? Evidence of rapid maturation, due to the ratio of liquid to oak surface are of the cask. This particular bottle was matured for 9 years in Oak casks and then some of it was poured out and finished in an Octave cask for 6 months before being bottled at cask strength with and outturn of just 88 bottles.
The nose of full of woody oakiness, banoffee pie and cream. Desserty and sugary. The colour is a dark mahogany brown, scintillating and alluring. Further nosing brings out a scent of fresh nuts. On the palate, we get a sticky, fruit pastry feel that gets all round your mouth, it stays there and evolves, into a nutty maple pecan Danish. Poached fruits and mixed spices of cinnamon and vanilla. The stickiness lengthens the finish prolonging that fruitiness.