Whisky : Glen Scotia 7 Year SMWS 93.137 “As usual: unusual”

Country/Region : Scotland/Campbeltown

ABV : 59.7%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon

Age : 7 Years (Distilled 9 Feb. 2012)

Nose : Tart creamy fruits and subtle spices.  Unripened starchy tropical fruits, green pineapple, tart lemon curd, and stewed rhubarb.  Funk and cream came through as over-ripened bananas and white pepper gravy.  Faint barbecue and charcoal linger in the background with old charred salmon cedar plank.

Palate : Creamy and mouth coating, initially sweet, it quickly transitioned toward blue cheese funk and salty brine.  Fresh cheese and herbs, apricot marmalade, sunrise papaya, cherimoya, and full cream yogurt.  A few drops of water brought out more tannic dryness, bitter herbs, and spice.  A few more drops of water toned down some of the bitter notes and brought forward earthy ginger and a spicy sarsaparilla root beer bite.

Finish :  Lingering dryness with earthy notes and faint ash.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Fresh Cheese & Fruit Farm Breakfast

Notes :  I loved this, then hated it, then loved it again— each time I sat down to review this I walked away with a very different impression.  My tasting notes stayed virtually the same, though sometimes it was a bit creamier or funkier, but my overall impression varied wildly.  I had to average out my scores because they varied from 3’s to 7’s.  This was the sort of dram I really need to be in the mood to enjoy— it was weird and strange.  I thought my wife would be really taken with the weird cheesy notes on this, but she found more tart fruits and wanted nothing more to do with it.  As I type this, I can still see her sour disappointed face after she took a first sip.  Our local tasting group has generally loved the younger first fill ex-bourbon Glen Scotia that SMWS has released lately— this one just proved a bit more divisive than usual.