When selecting the Bottle-Share whiskies, I thought something like ‘Hot embers at the gates of hell’ sounded promising and didn’t really give any indication of what the whisky would taste like. Glen Scotia also doesn’t really give any hints since they’re incredibly inconsistent/unpredictable. Some of their sherry casks are terrific, but there is a big chance of there being some factory smells. The bourbon casks, well, this is a big risk…

Nose:
Very hot at first, but also warm and full flavored. I think I pick up some anise, and shaved white oak. White pepper and something cheesy, burning wood, fenugreek, burning leather, iron and slate, minerals and marzipan. A LOT of stuff going on here.

Taste:
It starts of quite gentle, al more gentle than the name implies at least. It does build up quickly, but never gets uncomfortably hot or anything. Spicy with some pepper, creamy, the burning wood again and some pine resin.

Finish:
The finish is rather simple. The flavors as found above continue for a while before dying out. Not a very long finish but medium length I guess. Not special, but very nice.

A bit of a strange one, since I was very enthousiastic about the nose with all the flavors happening, but on the palate it did not show the same depth. It’s a very good dram in my opinion, but not too complex. I really enjoyed it, and it definetly is the best Glen Scotia from a bourbon cask I can remember!

Glen Scotia 20, 04-1991, SMWS, 93.50 ‘Hot embers at the gates of hell’, 58.6%, Refill Hogshead, available at the SMWS for € 102.