Glen Scotia Single Cask 20 Years Old 1999

A 20 year old Glen Scotia, a distillery bottling, from 1999, cask 683, at 53.1%, 168 bottles in all. Glen Scotia is a Campbeltown single malt from a town once called the whisky capital of the world. Its water is drawn from Crosshill Loch above the town.

Run through the stills and shell and tube condensers on Crosshill Loch water, building a maritime character of sea salt and oil. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the salty, oily character to the fore. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed, the salty, oily malt deepening. Maturation in the Campbeltown warehouses, by the sea, lends a coastal edge. Its long ferment, averaging well over a hundred hours, builds a fruity, coastal character. Refill oak lets the salty, oily Glen Scotia character lead the way. It was founded in 1832 as Scotia, one of the survivors of Campbeltown's Victorian whisky boom.

At 53.1%, undiluted, it is deep and briny. Baked apple, brine and a creamy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Soft citrus and a salted oil sit behind the cask. The close is oily and salted, fruit over a gentle oak. This is one of the last three Campbeltown malts.