The peated single malt was distilled in 2006, and was initially matured in first-fill barrels before being transferred to American oak hogshead casks seasoned with tawny Port. Eventually it was bottled at 14 years old at cask strength, weighing in at 52.8% ABV.
Master of Malt
Appearance
Orange/gold in colour, with a medium thick swirl line and very slow running medium thick legs.
A combination of 75% heavily peated spirit and 25% medium peated spirit to bring more smoke and work with the tawny port finish, 1st fill tawny port for 7-8 months #thewhiskeychaps
— Michael Henry (@LLBlender) January 6, 2022
Nose
A wave of sweet menthol and red berries kick this one off, a generous helping of wood comes along too. That old style window glazing putty is here too, jam tarts, a touch of rolling tobacco, and cranberries.
More time and the meatiness really comes through, the fruitiness does turn it into a chocolate kind of aroma for me, with tobacco leaves, it’s like i’d imagine a cup of coffee with strawberry or raspberry flavour in it would taste.
Palate
First off it’s got a lovely mouthfeel, and the peat is much more evident on the palate. Red berries are here like the nose, there is a slight medicinal feel here also, sticky plasters for sure, and leaning towards germoline too.
There is a coastal feel here now, it’s still got plenty of punch, chest warming for sure, and I’m getting traditional fisherman’s friends and cough candy, aniseed and anise, cinnamon and root ginger, it’s very nice.
I like that the sweetness wins through the spice and then you get the coastal elements again. A real journey #thewhiskeychaps
— Whisk(e)y Chap 🏴🥃 (@whiskeychap) January 6, 2022
Finish
Quite long for me in length, and it really does linger, and the spices go on and on, it’s quite rum and raisin for me now, espresso and dark chocolate.
With the Festival Releases we are being more experimental with Glen Scotia using casks with maritime trade links that we dont use in the core range. We have a few more things to try before we need to go back to any but it’s been noted how well this one went down #thewhiskeychaps
— Michael Henry (@LLBlender) January 6, 2022
My thoughts
Iv’e had the pleasure of tasting this dram a couple of times previously, and i knew what gorgeousness awaited me in the glass. Across whisky social media everybody had the same opinion, that this was an exceptionally well crafted whisky, and as Michael Henry said, this had been noted by Glen Scotia’s owners, we may see another like it in the future, with a bit of luck.
For me this was one of my favourite drams of 2020, full of fruit gorgeousness, that also develops well too. Even though i’m meant to stay as impartial as possible in my reviews, i can’t hide my love for this bottling, in my humble opinion it’s an absolute winner.
A big thank you goes out to Michael Henry – @LLBlender, for joining us on the tasting, you can follow him and us on twitter using the buttons below.
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