Glen Scotia - Night Three

What better night for a third pour of this mostly-a-mystery-to-me - Glen Scotia 15 Year - than to cap a hump day. Tonight, as I poured the whisky I was struck by its color. In my first tasting I proclaimed that the whisky did not have an overly fake orange glow leading me to believe that if it was artificially colored, it was not to an excessive degree. I'd like to amend that observation. The lighting in the kitchen is a bit cooler than the lighting in the room where I poured the first two pours. In the cooler light, this malt does indeed have a bit more unnatural orange glow so now I'm thinking this whisky does indeed contain artificial coloring and it is colored a fair amount.

As I departed the kitchen and trundled to my trusty chair of contemplation, smelling the whisky as I went, I was surprised at how different the malt seemed to me. Perhaps there are some surprises in store for me tonight. Same rules apply - a real-time capture of my impressions as I sip. Tonight's malt companion is the tenth episode of the hit 1964 series from Great Britain - Stingray.

The Smell

Whoa, now this is interesting, tonight I am getting a grassy honey vibe. The immediate memory that comes to mind is the smell of Drambuie. Baking spices, toasted oak, and a bit of vanilla are also present. 

The Taste

Surprise surprise, the spice is still front and center, but there is a bolder oak influence this time around. The second half of the sip reveals a bit of citrus sweetness, a dusty grass note, and just a bit of cigar tobacco. Three pours in and a savory spice (thyme, cayenne, and black pepper) still dominates the taste - think three parts spice to one part sweet and one part oak with just a whisper of aged tobacco.

The Finish

The finish is every bit of medium length. Definitely not short nor long to me. In order of proportion, spice, oak, and sweetness are the characteristics most observable to me. I do not detect any of that cigar tobacco that I encountered in the taste, but there is a taste sensation in my mouth reminiscent of a sauvignon blanc wine - an acidic, vibrant citrus-sweet yet tart paradox. Unlike a sauvignon blanc however, the presence of toasted oak also persists in the finish.

Third Pour Overall

For reference, tonight's pour was 1.5 ounces and I added ~1 teaspoon of water early in the tasting. After adding the water, I feel the nose became less interesting - lost was that grassy Drambuie vibe but a cotton candy sweetness emerged. 

While water muted the nose a bit, it absolutely improved the taste for me. The spice level dropped just enough to allow honey sweetness, toasted oak and cigar impressions to surface. Very interesting change in taste for me. 

Far and away, I'd say tonight's pour has been the most enjoyable of the bunch. I was disappointed after my first pour, thinking this whisky's profile was not a good match for my palate. The second taste was better, but not by a large margin. Had you asked me after night one or two, I would have said that I would not purchase another bottle, nor would I often reach for this whisky. Tonight however is a much different experience, I quite enjoyed this malt. Is the whisky opening up a bit in the bottle now that it has a bit more air as the fill-level has dropped? Perhaps my palate is just a bit more open to this whisky's uniqueness? I have more questions than answers at the moment.

I suspect there will be a fourth pour, I am most curious to see if this improvement trend continues. By the by, tonight's ounce and a half took three episodes of Stingray to complete. Troy and Phones make excellent hooch buddies.