Young Glen Scotia that’s been matured in a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel. Simple pleasures.
Nose: Brown breads spread with burnt butter is joined by smoked fish served with a rich bouillabaisse sauce. Meat extract and beef dripping are joined by wild nutty mushrooms, whilst fire-dried soils are joined by smoked salted caramel. In the background – moisture – damp carpets, garden sheds and waterlogged wool. Water releases some Campbeltown ‘funk’ with sweet cinnamon balls played off against brine and rubber inner tubes.
Taste: Smoked BBQ meats and fish stock are joined by briny water, beach pebbles and engine oils, whilst rich tea biscuits and a cup of mocha sit together with shed roofing, eucalyptus oils and chocolate shavings. Smoke is supporting rather than leading, but still persists throughout – a combination of maritime and inland and with a meaty character throughout. Dilution presents salted lemons and coal dust with kelp and residue chalkiness.
Finish: Medium with sweet golden cereals and dirty industrial peat sitting will highly alluvial putties and clays.
Given my predilection for sweet filth, this bottling was always firmly on my radar. And for those of you who share my partialities won’t be disappointed. A challengingly ‘adult’ young Glen Scotia that offers a diverse array of surf and turf combined with the perfect amount of mechanised smoky grime. Joint pick of the month.