Review #704 - SMWS 30.126 'Rambunctious But Friendly' - Glenrothes 16 Year
In early November of 2025, we had a chance to attend the outturn tasting for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's November 2025 releases for the United States. Typically, these outturn tastings consist of 6 or 7 different whiskies, and all of the tastings are done blind, with the bottles revealed only after tasting notes and guesses have been discussed. Most of the time, these bottles are single malt Scotch whiskies, but they originate at a variety of distilleries (the Societies has bottled whisky from over 150 distilleries), and there's a huge range of casks at are used for aging. This is 1 of 6 reviews from this month's outturn.
This Glenrothes single cask named 'Rambunctious But Friendly' is categorized in the SMWS flavor profile 'Deep Rich & Dried Fruits,' a category generally reserved for sherry bombs (or similar wine-heavy finishes). The spirit in this release first spent 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, which is typical for Society whiskies; after that, it spent roughly 4 years in a first fill Oloroso sherry hogshead. That's a long finishing period in a first fill cask, and the fact that it was also a Spanish oak cask means we could see a nice spice element in addition to the fruity character.
SMWS 30.126 'Rambunctious But Friendly' - Glenrothes 16 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 195 (2025)
Age Statement: 16 Years
Strength: 59.9% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon hogshead, finished in a first fill Spanish oak Oloroso sherry hogshead
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled June 9, 2008; 198 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed blind 1 time. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Sweeter, with powdered sugar on top of sherry fruits like orange and blackberry. There is a bit of a cinnamon spice kick, and in the background, we get an interesting note of earthy root vegetables.
Palate: Rich and very sweet, and red fruits are the star of the show: strawberry jam is the most dominant. It's borderline syrupy with the sweetness, but behind that, we do get some darker, older oak notes, hinting at that higher age.
Finish: Black pepper and cinnamon bring more spice from the oak, and we get oranges and baked apples in the fruit realm. There's a nice warmth to this finish, and it begins to mellow out with more time.
Final Note: This is a nice Glenrothes, one that hides its high strength until the finish. It's quite a sweet palate, and there was a nice variety of fruits across the nose, palate, and finish; that oak spice from the longer maturation and the Spanish oak started to show a lot more as we transitioned into the finish. Very good whisky, a bit of a classic sherry bomb.
Value is okay; this isn't the most expensive SMWS bottling, but that 16 year age statement does show in the $195 price. Whiskies in the 'Deep Rich & Dried Fruits' category do often come at a bit of a premium due to the use of sherry casks; we think this falls in the middle of the range in terms of value for Society bottlings, and it could be a nice pickup for Glenrothes fans who want to try a bottle with a nice amount of age.
Our Average Rating: 7.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.17
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Glenrothes reviews:
