Glen Scotia 15 Year - Night One

Typically, before posting a writeup for a whisky, I try to have (at least) three separate tastings, recording impressions for each. Once the tastings are complete, the process of creating the actual blog writeup begins. This process takes anywhere from two to three weeks as I spend a few hours on a handful of nights shaping, editing, and finalizing the structure of the entry. Tonight, I am trying something different, essentially a live tasting of a whisky. I foresee posting two more such entries as I conduct more tastings with this whisky in the coming weeks.

Tonight, my much better half and I will be tasting an impulse purchase that is a total mystery to me - Glen Scotia 15 Year. Just as with my impulse purchase of Loch Lomond 18 Year, this Glen Scotia satisfied three of my four requirements for purchasing an unknown whisky - age statement, non-chill filtered, and higher-than typical proof. Coming in at $69.99 and having never read a single review nor visited the producer’s website, I decided to take the plunge. My goal - taste, record my impressions in real time, and then once complete with three or so separate tastings, post the official tasting notes as well as review consensus to see how closely my impressions were.

Here is what the box and label tell me about this Glen Scotia: Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 15-years of age. Distilled, matured, and aged in Scotland. Classic Campbeltown Malt. Gently Matured in the Finest American Oak Barrels (the label on the bottle; the label on the back of the box proclaims gently matured in old American oak barrels). 46% ABV. And on the box’s back label: Campbeltown whiskies are intriguing - appealing to those consumers looking for something a little off the beaten track.

The appearance is somewhere between dark gold to medium amber. The label offers no proclamation that the whisky is indeed natural color, so it's a fair assumption the whisky is artificially colored. The appearance is not a glowing orange, so if this malt does indeed have a fake tan, it is not done so to an excessive degree.

The Smell

The smell is quite nice. An intense honey/vanilla sweetness leaps from the glass. A barley sugar note is right behind the honey/vanilla sweetness. There is also a subtle dried grass vibe here, but it is dwarfed by the sugar vibes. Zero peat on the nose, so I feel it safe to say this is an un-peated malt. A mild alcohol punch, nothing too excessive here. There is a gentle oak but a toasted oak, not a heavy char or wood resin. This absolutely smells of a bourbon barrel aged malt, so the label's proclamation of American oak maturation is totally believable.

The Taste
Holy moly, what a tongue punch. The initial sip packs way more of an ethanol punch than expected based on the smell. There is near-zero sweetness in the taste which also defies the expectations set by the smell. After the explosive arrival there is a meteoric rise of spiciness that continues well into the finish. This spiciness is much more than simple alcohol burn, there is a sharp, intentional spice here. Off the top of my head, the spice level is reminiscent of Talisker 10-year. Based on the initial wallop, I added a few splashes of water in the hopes of taming the malt. 

Water definitely helps tame the initial wallop. The spice remains however; what surprises me is how little sweetness there is. In a totally unscientific guess, I'd say the spice influence is four times that of the sweet influence. Towards the end of the sip there is an interesting, and pleasant, gentle bitterness. Perhaps the only area where the smell and taste are in total agreement is the lack of peat - this is definitely not a peated malt.

After a bit of time, I'd say the spice does subside enough to reveal some fruit sweetness, but make no mistake, the fruit sweetness appears like sporadic light beams breaking through a dense, overcast cloud layer of spice. 

The Finish

The spice found in the taste absolutely remains in the finish and lingers for some time. As the spice subsides, there is a whisker of sweetness followed by a slight tannic drying sensation. That pleasing, gentle bitterness on the conclusion of the taste reappears on the tail-end of the finish. Usually, one would not describe bitterness as a pleasing attribute, but in this malt, it not only works, but seems perfectly complementary to the overall experience. The finish lingers for a respectable amount of time - absolutely a medium-length finish, flirting with a long finish.

First Taste Overall

What a rollercoaster ride. Based on the smell, I was expecting a far sweeter dram than what I experienced. The level of spice was really unexpected and in my first taste, I'd say it's a few notches too strong. If I could rebalance this malt, I'd leave the sweetness where it is but dial down the spice two clicks. 

Re-reading the prose on the box's back label: Campbeltown whiskeys are intriguing - appealing to those consumers looking for something a little off the beaten track, I'd say mission accomplished. This malt is entirely intriguing and I cannot think of another malt on my shelf that is similar. Perhaps Talisker 10-year for spice, Deanston 12-year for sweetness on the nose, but as a complete package, this Glen Scotia 15-year is very much unique. If pressed to give a recommendation, I'd say to pass on this malt, unless spiciness is your thing. Please note though, this is the very first tasting, let's see how the malt evolves to my tastes over subsequent tastings.

More to come!