Glen Scotia The Classic Series No.1 – Heavily Peated 11 Years Old 2014

Glen Scotia from the distillery, an 11 year old, from 2014, cask 1963, at 55.7%, 225 bottles in all. Glen Scotia is a peated Campbeltown single malt, sea salt and oil beneath the smoke. It is one of only three working distilleries left in Campbeltown, with Springbank and Glengyle.

Worked through the stills from peated barley for a smoky, oily make, for a smoky, briny make of peat, salt and oil. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the coastal spirit. By the integrating teens congeners fade and esters build, the salty, oily spirit growing rounder. A coastal peat smoke threads through. The oily, coastal spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and brine to the fore. It has been owned by the Loch Lomond Group since the 1990s, after many changes of hands. Its malt comes from Greencore Maltings in southwest Scotland. Long ageing turns the fresh citrus towards dried fruit, salted toffee and a soft spice.

At its natural 55.7% it is concentrated. A coastal smoke over salt and oil, with a soft vanilla from the oak. The mouthfeel is oily, the smoke carried on a briny body. The finish is long, smoky and salted. This is a smoky, coastal Campbeltown single malt.