Review by: The Muskox

I was invited to a lovely whisky night at smoked_herring’s place! We ate homemade shortbread and poured a whole bunch of whiskies blind, but I think his favourite part was finally finding a whisky reviewer younger than him! This one was tasted several whiskies in, so apologies for the somewhat shorter-than-normal notes. I hope the ludicrous name makes up for it.

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Distillery: Glen Scotia.

Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Region: Campbeltown.

ABV: 56.9%. Cask strength.

Age: 10 years. Distilled June 29th 2007. Bottled in 2017.

Cask type: First-fill bourbon barrel.

Price: N/A.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Loads of sweet gingerbread spice up front: ginger (duh), cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Lots of fresh orange, with a nice floral touch. Crisp apple, some cherry, and sweet butterscotch. A hint of coffee grounds provides some rich earthiness.

Palate: Nutty, and really bourbon-y. Ginger spice up front gives way to flowers, lime, and soft rounded fruit. Malt and dry hay in the middle, with a luscious buttery note. Builds to very bourbon-y dry oak, with sweet caramel and nuts. An earthier sweetness persists underneath, maybe pumpkin?

Finish: Nutty and off-sweet. A sort of citrusy, floral black tea develops here, getting towards Earl Grey. A touch of peanut, and some bitter malt on the back end. A bit of a vegetal sweetness appeared after a while, maybe like cooked green beans.

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Conclusion: Super bourbon-cask-driven, with plenty of those woody, spicy-sweet flavours throughout. We didn’t do proper guesses before revealing the bottle, but I was certain there was a fresh, active bourbon cask involved. What I didn’t expect was the Campbeltown pedigree of this whisky. I really didn’t pick up any coastal influence at all. I did get the oily texture hinted at in the name, but it wasn’t enough to point me towards the Mull of Kintyre. I’d like to have spent a bit more time with this one, but what can you do. It’s tasty for sure, and I sense there’s more complexity in this dram than I was able to pick up on at the time.

Final Score: 82.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.