Whisky: Glen Scotia 18 Year SMWS 93.163 “A knock-out combination”

Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown

ABV: 55.9%

Cask: Ex-Bourbon Hogshead (15Y), Guyanese Rum Barrel (3Y)

Age: 18 Years (Distilled 7 Feb. 2003)

Nose: Tropical fruits, cream, and matchsticks. Salt and fruit left the impression of shaved ice on the beach— sweet and refreshing mango and lilikoi syrups with a cream top of sweetened condensed milk. Salty-mineral laden air blew in with notes of parched driftwood as creamy impressions of vanilla ice cream, hidden in the shave ice, emerged. My wife proposed tropical fruit Swedish Fish, while another taster described it as tropical Mike and Ike candies. The longer the dram sat, the more subtle matchstick and old campfire notes appeared.

Palate:  Medium-bodied and vibrant with creamy notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and herbs. A luxurious creaminess built with notes of coconut, pineapple, mango, and yuzu which waved aloha while someone lit the night’s driftwood bonfire pile. The topicality of the palate continued with hints of herbal tobacco, milk tea, and vanilla, which lingered onto the finish with a kiss of salt. A few drops of water brought out more tropical citrus and a hint of burnt matchstick.

Finish: Lingering fruity almond extract, fruit, and brine.

Score: 9

Mental Image: Off-day Coastal Adventures

Notes: I should have bought this whisky when I had the chance.

I did not, though, perhaps because I have found rum cask maturations (or finishes) to be pretty hit or miss. This Glen Scotia was an interesting one— the finishing cask was first a bourbon hogshead, then used for rum maturation, and finally, filled with scotch. So it is a refill hogshead in that it has been used several times, but the scotch came right after the rum. The provenance of the cask makes describing it a bit awkward; on the one hand, you could call it a first fill rum barrel to indicate the robust rummy flavors— they certainly elevated the natural fruits in Glen Scotia and carried them to the tropics. On the other hand, it is appropriate to call it a refill cask as it had been used several times, and the influence of the oak was minimal. SMWS labeled its final cask as “refill ex-rum barrel,” which certainly works but I think belies the rum influence.

I was surprised how well this dram worked— I believe that even on a bad day, I would score it no lower than a seven. At our original whisky club tasting, I gave it an eight, and during subsequent revisits, I realized it was more complex and more profound than I had initially noticed. It was a favorite of tasters that day, and quite a few people nominated it as the best of the afternoon. I do not think I was the only one a bit sad that they never ordered a bottle.