Robertsons of Pitlochry is a cute little shop on the cute little main street in cute little Pitlochry. I visited back in 2016, then my friend Nate did the same a few years later. Robertsons (no apostrophe) has/had some semi-dusties, rare bottlings, and their own single casks. Their picks have been reasonably priced, historically, and while Nate was there he bought a bottle of their exclusive single bourbon barrel Glen Ord. Our Scotch Night crew polished the whisky off at an event 2019, but I saved a sample por moi!
Alcohol by Volume: 56.6%
NEAT
This has one of the lightest colors I've ever seen on a legal single malt. It is nearly colorless.
Ah yes, new make on the nose. Grill marks eau de vie + cotton candy peat ash. Citronella candles, lemon custard and wort. It gets yeastier with time.
The palate is moderately-peated barley eau de vie. Peppery, bitter, slightly vegetal, in the mezcal family.
Pepper, bitterness and sweetness fight it out in the finish.
DILUTED TO 46%abv
The nose becomes more floral and candied. Maybe some apricot? It's plenty yeasty though, still reading like immature peated spirit.
The palate remains mostly mezcal. Slightly sweeter. Some acidic citrus in the background.
The acid moves to the fore in the finish, with mezcal and grapefruit peel in the back.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
Sometimes one gets what one asks for, and one shouldn't complain. Much. This is 10 year old whisky that reads like 1 year old malted barley spirit. 'Twas bold of the Robertsons to select this deeply unromantic whisky, and I think I'm the target demographic, but I'd struggle to get more than a quarter of the way through such a bottle. On the upside, it does allow us a sneak peek into what Ord's spirit smells and tastes like.
Next week, not Glen Ord...
Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ~€60
Rating - 77