Whisky : Glen Scotia 8 Year SMWS “Apocalypse Cow”

Country/Region : Scotland/Campbeltown

ABV : 59%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 8 Years (Distilled 31 Mar. 2011)

Nose : Maritime, soft fruits, and mild funk.  Sweet and fragrant notes of tropical botanical gardens led into sand dollars and salty coastal air.  Mild sweet smoke of burning sage, herbs, and flowers— a barnyard exorcism.

Palate : Medium bodied and very oily with notes of tropical fruits, earth, and sea.  Pineapple and fresh coconut arrived first with hints of salt, tangy lime leaves, and citrusy-butter curd.  Brown sugar chico fruits and drift wood appeared on the back end with dried grass and waxy fruit skins.

Finish :  Lingering unripened fruit and salted caramel.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Robocow’s Beach Vacation

Notes : Robocow was the name on an SMWS bottling of Ardmore (66.154) and, as it hit a number of similar notes as this one, I like to imagine it was the same character back again for a new adventure.  I could not settle between envisioning this as Robocow’s Revenge or Beach Vacation— but I liked the idea of a cyborg cow, who normally battles against the forces of the apocalypse, going on some kind of beach vacation side adventure.

I really enjoyed the way notes of tropical fruits and herbal char came together in this.  The first fill barrel brought a load of brown sugar sweetness that paired nicely with the fruity-salty malt.  There was just enough funk and buttery notes on this to constantly keep my interest and the oily mouthfeel ensured this dram had a lot of presence.

Overall, this was an ideal scotch to enjoy in the bath or relaxing on the back porch.  The floral and fruity notes on the nose call to mind an idyllic summer evening when a cool breeze blows in from the distant shore.