I went into this dram with great expectations. It’s Glen Scotia, which I love. It’s also Cadenhead, which I also love. Of course, both have their ups and downs.

Since it’s been quite a while since I got this sample, I don’t really remember where I got it from. But it’s the sort of whisky that make me enthusiastic about getting a sample, and sometimes a bottle.

Although, that last part has crawled to a stand-still with being a Cadenhead club member and not being able to get the bottle properly shipped and handled. Something, something, Brexit, something.

Sniff:
Funky from the start. Soil and mushrooms, moldy, wet. Some banana peels, some winegums, and mossy wood.

Sip:
Slightly sharper than expected. Dry with old oak and old barley. Dirty and funky, some vanilla, banana, winegums.

Swallow:
Dry, slightly bitter. Lots of oak, far more than before.

It’s a bit weird. It does have Glen Scotia funkiness, but there’s barely more than that. The combination with the high sweetness of overripe fruit and wine gums makes it a bit too much like the garden-waste bin.

I’m not entirely sure what happened here, but it’s a too much of a good thing. Generally, the bourbon profile works well with Glen Scotia, but in this case it only took the lesser parts of bourbon cask maturation and skipped the good bits. Or so it seems.

80/100