Glen Scotia Double Cask (46%)

An official release of Glen Scotia, at 46%. Glen Scotia is a Campbeltown single malt made on Crosshill Loch water in the Wee Toon. Campbeltown, the Wee Toon, once held some thirty distilleries and was the whisky capital of the world.

The spirit was distilled slowly in a single pair of stills for an oily, coastal make, building a maritime character of sea salt and oil. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the salty, oily character to the fore. No age is given, but vanillin vanilla and a salted toffee are well integrated over an oily body. The maritime setting on the Kintyre coast threads salt and brine through the spirit. It was founded in 1832 as Scotia, one of the survivors of Campbeltown's Victorian whisky boom. A long ferment gives a fruity make that ages with a coastal, oily grace. The oily, coastal spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and brine to the fore.

At 46% it is smooth and oily. Citrus, salt and a soft vanilla, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A dried fruit and a soft oak give it depth. The close is oily and salted, fruit over a gentle oak. This is Glen Scotia, a survivor of the old whisky capital.