Whisky: Glen Scotia 9 Year (2010), SMWS 93.126 “Campbeltown comedown”

Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown

ABV: 58.7%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 9 Years (Distilled 25 Aug. 2010)

Nose:  Coastal, maritime meats, salt, minerals, hints of cream, greenwood, mild herbal notes, occasional spirited prickle, tobacco, mint, white pepper.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a buttery viscosity, maritime salt and minerals, spearmint, green mango, spirited prickle, white pepper, maritime meat toward the end with tobacco and subtle grill smoke.

Finish: Medium-length with salt and tea.

Score: 5-6

Mental Image: Coastal Candy Factory

Narrative & Notes: Coastal and occasionally acrid, the aroma took me straight to a seashore barbecue with grilled mussels and prawns. Meat, smoke, salt, and mineral-rich maritime air drifted out of the glass with hints of cream, mint, and green wood. Occasional herbal notes appeared with some spirited prickle before settling down as stale tobacco and white pepper. The palate was coastal and acrid with a buttery viscosity that carried throughout. Maritime impressions continued with salt, minerals, and grilled seafood. Herbal spearmint and a lovely green mango— briny and pickled— arrived on the mid-palate with a spirited prickle followed by white pepper and prawns, which lingered at the end with herbal tobacco and subtle grill smoke. The finish was medium-length with salt and herbal tea.

I found this to be an odd duckling; odd enough, after I wrote my initial notes, I looked up the official SMWS tasting notes. I was unsure if I imagined the slightly strange profile. While SMWS used several notes that do not register with me, I was not far from what they came up with. To be sure, they pinpointed farmy elements that escaped me, and I highlighted far more meat than they did, but we both ended up describing something with a salty-herbal background. SMWS ended their notes with an exclamation of “Superb!,” which is another area we part ways.

Overall, this was not a bad Glen Scotia by any means, but it was a bit disappointing. I think highly of the distillery and the casks bottled by SMWS, so it is always a bit jarring to encounter one that does not quite suit my fancy. It was just fine, but I thought it was a bit lacking compared to some of the other recent releases.