The Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve

It's rare nowadays that I get to try a whisky from a distillery I've never experienced before, so this was a treat! Glenrothes's baseline expressions include a few different versions of their single malt aged in different barrels. In this case, I bet you can guess how this scotch was aged. I found this scotch to be a perfectly adequate scotch in the $40-45 range, akin to comparable brands like Aberfeldy 12 or the famed trio of entry-level malts from Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and Glenmorangie. The nose is malt, apple, and an underlayer of coconut. The palate has the same flavors, along with a slightly astringent, grassy edge, that transforms that apple into some sour or crab apple. The finish leans heavily on the bourbon aging: vanilla, vanilla, vanilla. It's not complicated, it's exactly what you'd expect. There's a virtue to that.