Glen Scotia Double Cask Single Malt

Sweet and really good but to strong for me

Very sweet nose from the PX, dried fruits. More pronounced dark dried fruits on the palate with an extended spicy finish.

Nose. Sherry, brown sugar, nutmeg and a touch of orchard fruits, but there’s also something slightly grassy or herbaceous. Palate. Oily and rich, with more of that grassy/herbaceous flavour. Prunes and raisins. Finish. Medium-long. Spicy warmth and ginger.

Rating: 13/23 I'm trying this side by side with Glen Scotia 15 as part of a multi-day Springbank sampling session following a Bruichladdich one. I guess it's terroir time here. N: More youthful than Glen Scotia 15. I get an extra layer of oak here adding a bit more woody sweetness. There's also a surprising carrot scent. A little bit of alcohol bite, but not too bad. There's some wood, grass, vegetal, and toasty notes that all seem kind of squished together. There's also much less malty sweetness than in Glen Scotia 15. P: This tastes like a very dry spirit was finished briefly in a first fill bourbon barrel - or perhaps for a longer period in a second fill barrel. The dryness of the spirit balances the sweetness of the barrel, but it's a tenuous balance. Sweet vanilla from the oak pairs with some dry woodiness turning into carrots. Some spices (cinnamon, white pepper) come out of the wood. There's a touch of tartness that leads into a bit of alcohol, but not too much. Some caramel sweetness at times, but it's a tad artificial. This is a fine palate overall, but there's really not much happening here and the balance isn't amazing. None of the individual flavors particularly speaks to me either. F: Carrot, wood, vanilla, some watered down artificial caramel. The flavors just don't meld together, but there's nothing particularly wrong with any of them. - Conclusion - A quick side-by-side with Bruichladdich Organic Barley 2009 (14) reveals more complexity and balance in the Bruichladdich, while maintaining a surprising degree of comparative richness. There's more of an alcohol bite in the Organic Barley, but aside from that I don't see any way in which this is better. Between this and Dewar's 15 The Monarch (13)? I think that the balance in the Dewar's outweighs its disadvantage of that oily alcohol flavor. I think that this is probably better than Three Scottish Brothers 20 (12) though. I can see myself giving this anywhere in the 12 to 14 range on a subsequent tasting. Right now, this seems closest to Dewar's 15, so I'm going with 13.

Yummy dram. Rich, orchard fruits, peppery spiciness in the mid palate, px with the sweetness and touch of funkyness on the nose. A real treat for only 35 bucks!

This has a unique nose on it, the bourbon oak is familiar but the PX sherry is not, as Im used to the drier Olorosso. This is a bit sweet but not cloying. There’s a definite fruitiness going on and plenty of caramel and vanilla. I get that briny “C-town funk” I keep hearing about which Im digging a lot. The finish hits me with a LOT of salty, coastal seabreeze which is totally my jam..it lingers. Almost reminds me of the brine of…fresh dungeness crab? This is really, really good stuff!