Another day, another sample. I was hoping to score some points to more or less get back in the race again. I felt a bit shite after missing out on the first two days. Not that those would have given me much, but still.

Sniff:

Scapa 19 – Chivas Brothers Cask Strength

Thick, burnt vanilla and white oak. First fill bourbon cask if there ever was one! Grass, caramel, creme brulee, cloves and a sirupy sweetness that all tie this together in a delicious whisky. Juicy fruit as well.

Sip:
White pepper for spiciness. The alcohol is fairly strong. Freshly cut grass, appel, pear, and after that dry oak and it gets a bit more spicy. The sweet spices that often accompany a bourbon matured whisky pop up a bit later if you let it swim long enough.

Swallow:
The finish is crisp and freshly sweet. Nice and spicy as well. It goes gentle rather fast but then lingers on the vanilla and toasted oak. A thick palate and really at the end a hint of glue.

A good bourbon matured whisky if there ever was one. I really like this stuff! The difficult part is the bourbon cask is rather prominent and does hide a bit of the distillery profile. The thickness of the wood influence, along with the crisp fruity notes sent me in the direction of Balblair. I looked around on Whiskybase to see what their cask strength bottlings have been like recently and chose the ‘Bottle your own’ to go with.

It turned out to be a Scapa 19yo, bottled for the Chivas Brothers CS range. 61% abv, 1993-2012. 49 points for me for being real close to the age and ABV. Good stuff!