Glen Scotia 18 Years Old (46%, OB, 2012)

• Glen Scotia Distillery
• Loch Lomond Group
• 46% ABV
• £59.33
• Score: 85/100

What they say:

Bourbon Cask matured, non-chill filtered.

Official tasting notes:

Colour:

Liquid honey

Body:

Subtle mellow richness

Nose:

A good balance of sweet and bitter fruit underpinned with the bourbon cask’s delicate vanilla layers. Remarkably light, fresh and vibrant.

What I say:

Glen Scotia 18 Years Old – released 2012 so presumably distilled in 1994 – safely before the mothballed period for Glen Scotia so we are well and truly safely in ‘old’ stock era here.

Colour:

Rich amber gold (9/20) medium-slow oily droplet tears with medium trails

Nose:

Tinned peaches, sweet and fruity, vanilla, light honey or syrup, slightly nutty – macadamia nuts again and lots of white chocolate

Taste:

Drying, waxy but becomes buttery and oily, rich and zesty with lots of spice, white pepper, orange zest and lime juice, opens up becoming a lot richer with malty and gristy cereal malted barley, almost gritty or paste nutty macadamias very textured and chewy on the palate and again vanilla and white chocolate

Finish:

Medium-long, creamy, toffee, oak wood, polish and beeswax

Overall:

At 18 Years Old these Glen Scotia’s are starting to feel complete with plenty of texture and an intensity, complex but quite coherent flavours reflect the staunch adherence to bourbon-only maturation.