Glen Scotia 8 Year (2013) SMWS "Changes faster than a chameleon"
Whisky: Glen Scotia 8 Year (2013) SMWS "Changes faster than a chameleon"
Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown
ABV: 59.7
Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrels
Age: 8 Years (Distilled 11 Sept. 2013)
Nose: Fruit, refined sugar, cherry, orange, strawberry, chalky, stone fruit pits, hints of salt and woody undertones.
Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, pineapple, chili pepper, steam ginger, apricot, buttery pastries, custard and cream toward the back end, hints of salt and orange cream soda.
Finish: Medium-length with citrus, cream, and a kiss of salinity.
Score: 6
Mental Image: Fruit Jam Omiyage
Narrative & Notes: The aroma was fruity with an underlying chalkiness that brought Flintstone vitamins and grape or strawberry Nerds to mind. Fruit continued to develop with cherries, orange rind, strawberries, and woody stone fruit pits. Undertones of salt, citrus, and wood occasionally appeared, often with sweeter candy notes. The palate was medium-bodied and oily, a touch hot at times water cooled it off nicely— or just plenty of time to rest in the glass. Loaded with slightly spicy fruits; pineapple jam, mango habanero chutney, and stem ginger. Butter pastries came into focus with jam-filled Danishes— apricot especially. Toward the back end were creamier notes of clotted cream, tart fruit custard, and orange cream soda. Hints of herbal tea and salt added complexity and lingered on a medium-length finish with more cream and citrus.
Not bad, not great, and very much within the realm of classic first-fill bourbon Glen Scotia notes. This bottle was part of the SMWS 2022 festival series, and it was hardly a surprise that Glen Scotia was the Campbeltown representative— there are not many Springbank casks floating outside the distillery anymore. This was pleasant, but as with a few other of the festival releases, the flavors lacked some of the clarity of previous single cask releases. I do not know how much of that is purely psychological, probably a little bit, though I have enjoyed other small batch releases from SMWS.
Overall, fine and enjoyable— the fruit and cream were delicious, and the bit of youthful heat was easily tamed with time or water. Yet, as lovely as this was, I was left wanting something a bit more special for a once-a-year festival release. During our local tasting of this and other festival bottles, the bottle was well-received with a few fans who thought it one of the better entries in the line-up.
