Glen Scotia 24 Years Old 2000 Cask #327 (Connoisseurs Choice)

A 24 year old Glen Scotia from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 2000, from cask 327, bottled at 55.7%, one of 216 bottles. Glen Scotia, founded in 1832, is one of the three surviving Campbeltown distilleries. A former owner, Duncan MacCallum, drowned in the loch that fed the distillery, and is said to haunt it.

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. In the oxidative, evaporative years concentration brings dried fruit, a salted toffee and a waxy, oily depth. Refill oak lets the salty, oily Glen Scotia character lead the way. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit. The maritime setting on the Kintyre coast threads salt and brine through the spirit.

At a natural 55.7% it is full and oily. A briny, oily coastal fruit, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Citrus, brine and a salted toffee fill the middle. A briny finish ends on citrus and a soft oak. This is Glen Scotia, a survivor of the old whisky capital.