The Den @ Peacemaker Saloon
26 Mort StreetFounded 90 years after Captain Philip landed in what is now Sydney Harbour in the town of Rothes in Scotland's Speyside region in 1878; The Glenrothes distillery is often known as "Macallan Light". It was founded by James Stuart, who also founded Macallan - which is only about 15 minutes away. James soon withdrew from Glenrothes to focus on Macallan, however ownership of both distilleries has now come full circle and both are currently owned by Edrington.
Like many Scottish distilleries, The Glenrothes has burnt down several times - storage of high proof spirits can be a dangerous undertaking; and has also been through numerous owners since its founding nearly 250 years ago. Despite the distillery being founded in 1978, the brand The Glenrothes only traces its history back to 1993 - when Berry Bros. and Rudd of London came to an agreement with Edrington, owners of the distiller, to create a single malt brand for the distillery.
Probably due to their long history as wine merchants, BBR didn't follow the usual Scotch single malt whisky path of releasing age statement whiskies, and instead created vintages. Taking advantage of the distillers’ advanced understanding of the maturation process, the very best of each year’s output was bottled as a vintage release, with less than 3% of the distillery’s whisky ending up as single malt - the rest of the spirit continued to be used in blends as it always had been. Eventually BBR also released "reserves" which were NAS releases focusing on the cask rather than the spirit - such as Sherry Cask Reserve and Peated Cask Reserve.
In 2017 BBR sold ownership of the brand The Glenrothes to the distillery - which is owned by Edrington. Under this new management, The Glenrothes ditched the vintage releases that they'd become famous for, and followed sister-distillery Macallan's mix of generic age statements and NAS releases; truly becoming "Macallan Light".
Join us this March as we investigate the three release styles that The Glenrothes was known for in the nineties & noughties - with 2 cask reserves, 2 vintage releases, and 2 single cask releases.
This event is only for persons aged 18 years or older.
Photo and/or video recording of this event may occur.
Peacemaker BBQ Platters are provided at in-person events.
If you have dietary requirements, please get in contact with us as early as possible.
Wed, Mar 25, 2026 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
The Den @ Peacemaker Saloon
26 Mort Street
Public tastings of different whiskies from around the world with a heavy focus on Australian distilleries.
In-person tastings are held regularly at the Midnight Hotel in Braddon, Canberra.
Virtual tastings are held from time to time.
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