Glen Scotia is the only distillery in Campbeltown apart from the two Springbank plants. It is probably the only distillery in Scotland to use washbacks made of Cor-Ten steel (kind of a pre-rusted steel). Its production is rather irregular which means it’s rarely found as a single malt.
This 18 years old Glen Scotia was matured in a sherry butt and bottled by Malts of Scotland.
Glen Scotia 18 yo 1992 (53,3%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask #429, 199 btl.)
Glen Scotia 18 yo 1992 (53,3%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask #429, 199 btl.)Nose: a bit weird. Rubbery sherry, with a bunch of roasted / burnt notes (burnt pastry, hints of sulphur, burnt grass). Some mint. Red fruit as well, evolving to raspberry vinegar. Wet newspaper and dusty old fabric. I kept changing my mind about this one, it seems to change constantly. In a way it’s really ferocious, but on the other hand that makes it interesting.
Mouth: punchy and rather herbal (cloves). Caramel. Quite woody. Salty liquorice. Aftertaste on roasted coffee beans and cocoa. Water doesn’t change the profile.
Finish: dying quite soon, but with a nice chocolate ending.
Quite extreme… Interesting but not really a drinker’s whisky. Around € 80.
Score: 78/100
(debatable score… make that 63 or 85 depending on your mood)