Mini SBT October 2014 from naoskprs Sample A

From my malt friend naoskprs, three types of blind samples arrived. I was grateful to be able to challenge this time as well. First, A. (The following is the content of the tasting done blind.) ・Mini SBT October 2014 from naoskprs Sample A The aroma is elegant with a sense of aging, estery, loquat, pineapple, peach, melon, banana milk, vanilla, fruit cake, butterscotch, creamy, nuts, slightly plant-like, strong woodiness, diverse aromas. When drinking, it has a smooth mouthfeel with a rich flavor, loquat, pineapple, banana milk, sweet and full-bodied, good acidity, the oak woodiness is strong but not unpleasant, creamy fruit cake, long finish. 【G/VG】 The body seems slightly light but has a sense of aging and is complex and delicious. First, I associate it with long-aged cask strength bottles from German bottlers like agencies. Overall prediction is a Speyside malt distilled in the 1970s, long-aged with a strength drop of 40-46%, relatively recent release. Probably a refill bourbon cask aged around 40 years ago. For the distillery prediction, I chose based on the creamy fruit cake-like nuances. For the third guess, due to the abundance of German long-aged bottles and slight bitterness, I chose Benriach. ・Prediction 1. Glenrothes 2. Glenburgie 3. Benriach I also considered Glenrothes and Longmorn. I sent the tasting notes and predictions via email as above. The correct answer is... Glenrothes GLENROTHES 1970-2006 Taste Still Selection #10590 41.8% one of 175 bottles, Bourbon cask The Glenrothes from Taste Still Selection, distilled in 1970, a long-aged bottle of about 36 years. Surprisingly, the bottling was earlier than expected, but it's still a long-aged Speyside cask strength with a strength drop. Regarding the distillery prediction, it's very regrettable. The creamy fruit cake plus banana milk nuances would make me think of 70s long-aged Glenrothes or Glenrothes, but recently there have been fewer releases of long-aged Glenrothes, so I only listed them as candidates up to the third guess. It's ironic that the correct answer is Glenrothes... a lesson not to let bias into predictions. (laughs) This type was common among German bottlers recently, but a bit earlier it was also the style of bottlers like Duncan Taylor. This time, it's a perfect match for the correct answer, which is frustrating. But it was a satisfactory revelation as the bottle's specs were almost exactly what I predicted. Although not very heavy-bodied, it was a bottle that allowed enjoyment of the complex fruity characteristics of long aging. #Glenrothes (GLENROTHES) #SBT