Glen Scotia Victoriana Cask #Batch 001

This official Glen Scotia, cask Batch 001, at 54.8%. Glen Scotia, founded in 1832, makes a peated malt of smoke, salt and oil. It has been owned by the Loch Lomond Group since the 1990s, after many changes of hands.

Drawn off the stills from heavily peated malt for a smoky, salty spirit, building the peated Glen Scotia style. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a light vanilla over the brine. Carrying no age, soft vanillin (vanilla) and a coastal salt suggest a fair spell in cask. Long ageing turns the fresh citrus towards dried fruit, salted toffee and a soft spice. A gentle maturation suits the oily make, the sea salt and toffee growing with time. Its water is drawn from Crosshill Loch above the town. Crosshill Loch water and a long ferment give the oily, coastal Glen Scotia make. The slow distillation and shell and tube condensers give the oily Glen Scotia body.

At a natural 54.8% it is full and oily. A smoky, oily sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked apple and a peaty sea salt lift it. A briny finish ends on soft peat and citrus. This is Glen Scotia, the smoky spirit of the old whisky capital.