Whisky : Glen Scotia 11 Year SMWS 93.9 “Salty buckets of sand”

Country/Region : Scotland/Campbeltown

ABV : 64.4%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon

Age : 11 Years (Distilled Feb. 1991, Bottled Aug. 2002)

Nose : Salty, sandy, and sweet pork.  Heady maritime shore notes left the impression of buckets of wet sand, sand castles, salt ocean breezes, and wooden piers.  Faintly chemical and metallic notes brought to mind the Pirates of the Caribbean ride with machine oil, chlorine, subtle smoke, and rusted metal.  Subtle tropical fruits, coconut suntan lotion, and sweet glazed pork lingered in the background.

Palate : Medium bodied and oily with brine, cream, and metallic notes.  Salty mineral beach notes along with faint coconut notes called to mind bronzer, or, along with a wisp of smoke, fried plantains.  Maritime saltiness ran throughout with notes of limu, sea asparagus, and ikura (salmon roe).  Toward the end were notes of old stone Spanish forts and rusted cannons.  Water brought out more butter and hints of shellfish.

Finish : Lingering salt with a subtle fruit.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Sandcastles and High Surf

Notes : This was a treat to taste side by side with the Campbeltown Festival bottle that SMWS did for 2021 (also a Glen Soctia 93.153).  While that dram was fruity, this was salty.  This was aptly named with so many beachy notes of salt, sand, and sunscreen.  Intriguing hints of smoke and metallic rust brought back memories of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  I was obsessed with that ride as a child, I think it was the only thing at Disney that I wanted to do— and I wanted to do it over and over again.  

There was a lot to love on this coastal dram, though the wife thought it was a bit shallow.  She longed for something a bit meatier and weightier on the palate— a wave of smoke to match the salty surf.  I agree that that would have maybe elevated this a bit higher, or if the dram were just a bit smoother in the way it transitioned between flavors.  

Overall, another excellent single cask from Glen Scotia.  This one was an oldie— a vintage example— but it was still great.  It was a bit tricky to compare this to the more recent bottles as Glen Scotia produces so many different styles and levels of peat that you never quite know what you are going to get until you pour a dram.  I enjoyed the elevated coastal notes on this and thought water gave it a lovely clarified butter quality, especially on the finish.