Youthful Glen Scotia that was laid down in December 2010 and spent 7 years in a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel.
Nose: Sweet with confectionary - candy floss, raspberry liquorice laces and icing - alongside a vivid vein of pear juice and hawthorn berries. Beneath - a steely minerality - hewn limestone cliffs and beach shingles – and some toasted brioche buns. Reduction adds fruits and floral – apricot halves and violet petals whilst bringing forward the ex-bourbon cask with vanilla and custard.
Taste: An oily texture delivers a combination of fruits, engines and spirit. There’s some youthful rawness here – which the high ABV accentuates – copper pots and pipes. Raspberry sherbet and grapefruit give a juicy tartness whilst wet soils, mineral oils and iron minerals provide a sharp vitality. The development heads towards the patisserie with ready rolled pasty and tart cases, whilst in the back-palate unburnt brick charcoal again reinforces a rocky quartz-like quality. The addition of water results in a softer attack – less raw bite and sharpness – along with delicate but still perceivable charred barrel ends.
Finish: Short (a confirmation of age) with crumbled rocks, jagged minerals and a fading gravy-like meatiness.
A rather unusual youthful Glen Scotia delivered without peat, but still with plenty of coastal qualities. The end result offers real bite and punch but at the same time feels a little uncooked. Nevertheless, this responds well to dilution – losing some of the hostility in return for broader fruitiness on the nose and greater cask influence on the palate.