North Star Tasting with Iain Croucher at The Oak Barrel, 11 May 2023, Whisky #2 Nose: Golden syrup and dusky floral cereal. Old lignins, slowly deconstructing. Herbal tea with a vestigial wood-smoke quality. Papery like an old book, but in a good way. Ancient parchment and oak scriptoria burnished with wax for centuries. Palate: An easy and welcoming arrival, but not overly soft. Subtly spiced stewed stone-fruits, strawberry and raspberry compotes, mellow vanilla (scraped pods, not blossoms or extract). Toasted cereal and dried fruits blended fine and sprinkled on crème caramel. The texture is light but very good. Finish: Medium. Real ale! Where did that come from!? It gains a staunch malty tone towards the end before it segues gracefully into a final mildly bright tannic flourish. A very good nose, a spectacular palate and a fine finish. Elegant, gentle, well-constructed and demure but still retaining a shadow of youthful verve despite its advancing years. An elderly gent with a sparkle in his eye and enough energy to take on the youngsters. I returned to this several times during the tasting and it emerged as easily the most impressive whisky on offer. I was left with the final, irresistible impression that this is an excellent example of what Glenrothes can be like with some serious maturation in a good cask. If only the price was not prohibitive I'd buy a case of 6 in a heartbeat. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)