
November 18, 2020

Little Duos, today Glen Scotia

Some twenty-eight years old indies please, as I’m sometimes finding the newish officials a little oak-heavy…

Glen Scotia 28 yo 1992/2020 (47.6%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 186 bottles)

From the Campbeltown Fashion Week, Spring Collection … Colour: gold. Nose: there’s this very typical fruity sourness at first, with some cider and wee touches of wine vinegar, then some grass, fern and tomato leaves, and let’s not forget these wee bits of rubber, gunpowder and engine grease, but some vanilla, mangos and bananas are participating too, creating a great feeling of unicity. Or oneness. See what I mean, I suppose. I’m fond of this nose… Mouth: the Campbeltown mafi… I mean connection at work I suppose. This one starts dry and even acrid and bitter, but that just works, as it does in the driest herbal concoctions that mixologists know so well. Artichokes, Brussels sprouts, green asparagus, eggplants… Add to that a thin layer of bitter beer, some malt, some green pepper, cactus, leaves… All that is a little extreme, perhaps, but I am a fan. A style that’s not often to be encountered in today’s sweeter whiskies. No butterscotch in this one! Finish: long, a little agave-y, with touches of honey and retsina. So a little rounder now, perhaps more polite. Comments: what a strong personality!
SGP:371 - 88 points.

Glen Scotia 28 yo 1992/2020 (56.2%, Gordon & MacPhail for LMDW and Kirsch Import, Connoisseurs Choice, first fill remade sherry hogshead, cask #19, 150 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: the higher strength and perhaps the re-coopering make it even more austere, with some acetone and varnish at first, but some lovely notes of thin mints and coconut balls are soon to make it better balanced, if a little ‘modern’. Lovely nose indeed. With water: gets unexpectedly grassier. More artichokes and these wee sulphury touches. Autumn leaves, a little patchouli, paraffin... Mouth (neat): excellent, tart and nervous, rather thick, herbal, spicy. Gingered marmalade and hay, peelings, liquorice wood, a little quince jelly… With water: exactly the one from Campbeltown when properly reduced. Very lovely bitterness. Finish: long, bitter, leafy, slightly sour. Comments: these bitter Glen Scotias really are in a cluster of their own. I’m not totally sure they are for everyone, but there’s one thing they sure aren’t: boring.
SGP:471 – 88 points.

Check the index of all Glen Scotia we've tasted so far