Hold onto your potatoes – this Glen Scotia has been subjected to a port hogshead finish after 12 years in ex-bourbon. The distillery’s 2008 ruby port finished OB was quite the lovely thing – let’s see how this older SMWS version stacks up. View on SMWS
Nose: Lively and intense berry juices (cranberry and redcurrant) are bundled up with medicinal rye spices – cinnamon, cumin and surface cleaners. There’s a palpable sense of oiliness here – burnt and sticky pan sugars, Xylitol and liquorice root extract. Smoke is ashy, part burnt wood, part straight up mineral iodine. Dilution takes the aromas and dials them up a notch – forest fire, Franks Hot Sauce (seriously), hospital bandages, beef cooking jus and limestone cliffs.
Taste: Like bacon? You’ll love this –thick cut, maple smoked, streaky. Add some burnt ends into the mix for good measure. Meaty stuff. The fruits are more reduced here – red and black berries turned into jams and preserves with the addition of sugar. The peat influence is industrial – axle grease, engine oils and coal dust. It sits with a well-judged, but sprightly combination of cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. The development leads increasingly towards the coast with granite and rock pools joined by seaweed. The addition of water transposes things to a farm – burning wet hay, barns, leaf mulch and old leather bound books.
Finish: Medium to long playing berry juices off against wet soils and pepper spicing.
Make no mistake, this Glen Scotia is going to fly off the shelves – folks seem to go nuts for port casks. The fact that this is a top draw whisky that’s stunningly balanced and intricately composed won’t help its availability. An easy pick of the month. Quite excellent.