Glen Scotia 37 yo 1972 / 2010 Malts of Scotland #1926 vs Glen Scotia 25 yo 1992 / 2017 The Whisky Agency & The Whisky Exchange
I don’t think we have ever seen a concerted push for Glen Scotia to rise from the third shelf.. Its owners seem to have a start and fizzle approach: revamped livery, new range then.. nothing. Neither is it very common with the independent bottles, and it can’t be all blended away so what gives?
Glen Scotia 37 yo 1972 / 2010 Malts of Scotland #1926 45.1%
Nose: A round ball of a nose, not brash but not exactly clean either. In fact it’s rather dirty in a softly gloved manner. So an eclectic mix of bung cloths, earthen floors, rusty metal, clean waxes that lean towards a very particular Highland distillery, staves of dried out oak and ancient flaky polish, engine grease, salt and white smoke. Heaped plates of overripe fruit spoiling in the afternoon sun. Thing is it’s all put together so well you struggle to find the seams. Much unlike the crudely stitched up Frankenstein’s monsters animated with a zap of hyperactive new wine casks that are so common now.
Palate: Despite the roundness it is rather immediate on the tongue.. a serious load of overripe fruit and a host of earthy-dirty notes. Oils, waxes, polished brass, leather boots. A growing earthy rooty sappy buzz, like the smell of freshly dug tapioca and turnips from a muddy corner of the garden. Resolves to wispy smoke and salt.
Finish: Long, lingering fruitiness and aftertaste of acidic juice, smoke, salt, bung cloth again.
Glen Scotia 25 yo 1992 / 2017 The Whisky Agency & The Whisky Exchange 49.3%
Nose: Right after the ’72, the bourbon sweetness is much louder, but so are the dirty bung cloths and wet sack. This is a less refined, less subtle and far more outspoken version of the 1972, but a clear family resemblance is evident. Smoke and distant diesel engines, a gristly dirty sootiness. Brine and a bit of vegetal funk. Almost like a few drops of Caroni were added. Soaked oak. Raw licorice. Engine room.
Palate: Much more upfront. Big dirtiness – bung cloth and moldering rags, heaps of them. Oaky tannins, a woody caramel that’s certainly from the wood. Hot pans, seared gristle, blackened sauces. A lip curling funk. A fermenting vegetal broth that really reminds me of some rums. Again resolving to salt smoke and oil cans.
Finish: Medium long, not much further developments. Salt smoke and oil cans.
Post remarks: Remarkable how neighbours Springbank and Glen Scotia seem to have this similar dirty fuzzy profile to them.
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