Glen Scotia Campbeltown Cross 11 Years Old 2010

An official release of Glen Scotia, an 11 year old, from 2010, at 56.8%, 1918 bottles in all. Glen Scotia is a coastal, briny Campbeltown malt, founded in 1832 on the Kintyre peninsula. Its malt comes from Greencore Maltings in southwest Scotland.

The spirit was distilled slowly in a single pair of stills for an oily, coastal make, building the Campbeltown Glen Scotia style. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a light vanilla over the brine. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into a rounded vanilla as ethyl esters lend a riper citrus and a salted toffee. A long ferment gives a fruity make that ages with a coastal, oily grace. Maturation in the Campbeltown warehouses, by the sea, lends a coastal edge. Refill oak lets the salty, oily Glen Scotia character lead the way. Its water is drawn from Crosshill Loch above the town. A gentle maturation suits the oily make, the sea salt and toffee growing with time.

At 56.8%, undiluted, it is deep and briny. An oily, salted sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. It is oily and briny, the coastal spirit shining through. It finishes long, briny and oily. This is Glen Scotia, a survivor of the old whisky capital.