Glen Scotia Campbeltown Cross – Vintage Release No. 3 10 Years Old 2010

Glen Scotia from the distillery, a 10 year old, from 2010, at 46%, 3000 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, for an oily spirit with a coastal, salted edge. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a light vanilla over the brine. Integration folds eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) into the malt, the body oilier and the salt softer. Years in oak round the spirit, the brine and citrus deepening to a salted toffee. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh citrus towards dried fruit, salted toffee and a soft spice. It sits on High Street in Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula on the west coast.

At 46% it is clean and oily. Baked apple, brine and a creamy oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath it run citrus, salt and a soft oil. The finish is long, oily and salted. This is Glen Scotia, a survivor of the old whisky capital.