In partnership with The Glenrothes
James Stuart didn’t just stumble out of bed for a walk one morning and happen upon an award-winning distillery he had somehow never noticed in his Scottish hometown of Rothes. But there, on the river Spey’s sleepy banks, Stuart saw boundless potential. He envisioned a single-malt whisky the likes of which the world had never experienced, and through dedication to the craft and an endless pursuit of mastery, he turned his dream into reality. That is the gift of a true visionary and why, more than 150 years later, The Glenrothes stands as a symbol of single-malt luxury.
The distillery in Stuart’s vision would be built on four key pillars: It would only use water sourced directly on site, a rarity for most Scottish distilleries. It would employ an unusually slow distillation process. All casks would be sherry-seasoned — at ten times the cost of most casks, but Stuart reasoned that a craftsman’s approach requires best-in-class equipment. And every dram would derive its color naturally from its cask, never altered.
With little more than these guideposts, Stuart and a small but mightily committed group of local coopers distilled the first batches of The Glenrothes single-malt in 1879. To offer a bit of context, it would be another year before a young inventor in New Jersey was granted a patent for his incandescent light bulb. Yet Stuart’s vision was gloriously illuminated through his unique willingness to embrace new technologies while holding fast to traditional distilling methods.
Today, Stuart’s original four ideals still guide The Glenrothes, and the wooded footpath where he first envisioned his distillery remains intact and open — philosophical and physical bridges between tradition and modernity. Indeed, The Glenrothes are still considered master craftsmen of the highest order, and their single-malt whiskies are rare, coveted icons for confident discerners.
Their current offerings include award-winning 18– and 25-year-old expressions, both defined by the sweet, fruity character of The Glenrothes’ signature sherry-seasoned oak casks. The 25 won double gold at the 2021 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco and secured a Chairman’s Trophy at the 2018 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, while the 18 took home a gold of its own and also claimed a Chairman’s Trophy at the 2021 Challenge.
Though his hometown has grown with the times, and progress marches on, Stuart’s legacy appears alive and well. The Glenrothes continues to honor tradition while welcoming the innovations of each new era. For example, each of the 168 bottles of last year’s 36-year-old release included a non-fungible token (NFT) designed by The New Yorker illustrator Maddie Dai.
And The Glenrothes just released its latest vibrant masterpiece, a 42-year-old single-malt that is aromatic and richly sweet with brown sugar, honeycomb and hints of fresh cedar and sugared almonds. The whole thing is stunning, from the packaging to the bottle to the flavor itself. There’s more we could say, but in this case, we’re content to let the masters tell it to you directly. Over at The Glenrothes Journals, you’ll find exclusive content and news created exclusively for the most discerning single-malt sippers. It’s one more way The Glenrothes manages to keep everything that’s old new again. We can’t help but think James Stuart saw all this coming.
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