Always good to see Glen Scotia on an SMWS outturn. This one is a 15 year old drawn from a refill ex-bourbon barrel. Oily & Coastal profile.
Nose: Coastal, meaty and farmyard – an intriguing and alluring combination. Ham hock and reduced beef gravy are joined by wet hay, sties and sweet (citrus) minerality. Smoke is light, but still quite ‘funky’ – smouldering grass, wet clay, engine room oils and coal dust. In the background, toasted cereals, singed pine cones and a very light medicinalness. The addition of water brings a heightened sense of coastalness – steel, rocks and granite.
Taste: An oily mouthfeel which is surprisingly sweet – lemon and lime tartness, greeted by soured fruits and plenty of dried grasses and hay. The translation from the nose is excellent – the peat smoke is still background, but dirty, funky and quite greasy – part natural, part man-made. Reduction once again emphasises minerals, but also adds further citrus flavours and a sense of increasing dryness.
Finish: Medium semi-sweet and with ashy/chalky funky farmyard smoke.
I’ve always found IB Glen Scotias to be much more idiosyncratic than distillery bottles – this is no exception – there’s plenty of unusual aroma and flavour combinations. That they all work together so well is a minor miracle and results in a highly recommendable whisky that both enjoyable and truly evocative of the Campbeltown region.