Whisky : Glen Scotia 8 Year SMWS 93.115 “Seafood Cycles”

Country/Region : Campbeltown

ABV : 61.2%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 8 Years (Distilled 4 May 2010)

Nose : Bananas: slightly sweet, creamy, and starchy.  March of the Bananas: brown banana, mashed banana, banana brûlée, banana lumpia— mashed banana and sugar wrapped in a thin pastry shell and deed fried.  Beyond the fruit and pastry notes are metal polish and salt water pool.

Palate : Chocolate covered bananas from an Edible Arrangements Thank You bouquet.  Lovely slightly bitter chocolate and sweet banana combine with just a hint of smoke in the background.  Was the banana grilled?  The chocolate smoked?  Lovely sweetness like freshwater crayfish, creamy green curry, and a metallic note like silver polish or when you accidentally bite down on a piece of silverware.

Finish : Lovely sweet charcoal smoke comes out on the finish along with some fruity punch.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Banana Lumpia from a roadside wagon.

Something Similar : r/Scotch Ardmore 11Y (similar tropical fruit/hint of maritime, more smoke/fire)

Something Worse : Suntory Royal (more banana pudding/pastry, less body/finish)

Something Worse : Brenne Single Malt (more artificial banana, sweeter)

Notes : Far from the candy banana flavor of the Gros Michel, Laffy Taffy, or 99 Bananas, this had all the creamy starch profile of a plantain or fē’i.  This wonderful Glen Scotia combined lovely elements of tropical fruits with just a hint of the maritime notes the SMWS codename points to.  It struck a beautiful balance between the tropical fruit market and the tropical lagoon.  It was hard to believe this dram was only 8 years old— there was just so much going on and it had such a wonderful starchy mouthfeel.  There were very little spirit or sharpe notes to draw attention to the dram’s youth.  

This dram spoke wonderfully to the quality of spirit Glen Scotia has been producing in the last decade.  Even better, this dram was distilled on May 4th, or, International Star Wars Day.  Clearly the force was strong with this one.