Glen Scotia
Campbeltown Malts Festival 2023
A special edition from Glen Scotia
Last year I got a tip from a whisky friend of mine. The special edition from Glen Scotia, bottled for the 2023 Campbeltown malts festival was on sale at a store near me. Curious about the white port cask finish, I bought it, put it aside and let it slowly disappear to the back of my cabinet.
But a couple of days ago, I poured the last dram of the Glen Scotia 1832 and wondered if I had any other bottles of Glen Scotia in my cabinet.
I found two, a bottle from the SMWS and this one. And it immediately sparked my interest again. So I put it to the front of the list, pushed another bottle to the back and waited until I had some time to plop the bottle open and try it.
Well, today is the day. So without a long background story or adventures, here are my notes on this 2023 release.
While taking a photo of the bottle, I noticed the sunlight playing with the amber color of the whisky. When poured, it remains this playful amber, but takes on a more yellow tone.
This 11 year old whisky got a 12 months finish on white port casks and was bottled at 54,7% Vol. It was non-chill filtered at cask strenght and has its natural colour.
On the nose I get some teasing fruity smoke. A second sniff gives me something more chemical right at the start, that reminds me a bit of opening my window at a gas station. But the fruity smoky notes arrive too soon to let me enjoy this weird guilty pleasure of mine. Right after the peaty fruit, I get some honeyed oats and a more malty tone that even gives me feint hints of a hoppy IPA.
The first sip releases a mouth full of peat, followed by the sweetness of fresh grapes and pears. the following sip starts with a short hint of spongecake, then the peatyness and fresh fruit, but some chilled gooseberry juice is added.
The finish is medium long and starts with some oak merging to some honey on cake and apricots, but all paired with a small campfire on the background.
This dram was worth saving, but is even better when enjoyed!
