Glen Scotia 8 Year (SMWS 93.177 "Crossing the Event Horizon")

 

This was the fifth sample at the September 2022 outturn from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC. This was a popular one - a lot of peatheads in the audience that night - and fooled most people into thinking it was a straight-up Islay. I heard a lot of guesses like Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, and even Laphroaig (!). I myself thought it was Caol Ila. 

Here are the official notes: 

As expected with this now notorious make, the nose was dominated by such things as spiced pork scratchings, frazzled bacon rind, iodine drops, hessian, cured duck meat and venison salami. Add to that Barbour grease, roof pitch, silage and olives doused in petrol and brine. Some water brought sheep wool and mutton stock, cooking oils, chip fat, aniseed, eucalyptus and muddy farmyards. The palate was initially full of raw seawater and sardines marinating in olive oil. Then lemon juice, mechanical oils, smoked black olives, heather ales, sarsaparilla and more smoky bacon vibes. Reduction gave the impression of lemons charring on a BBQ, mentholated pineapples and tarry rope. Some pickled ginger marinating in rock pools with added mercurochrome. The list went on... 

Intriguing notes - Barbour grease? Roof pitch? Olives doused in petrol?! First fill ex-bourbon, bottled at 58.6% ABV. Let's immediately get into this curious dram:

Nose: Peat, lots of iodine, motor oil, anchovies, coal, soft brine, and ... crab?? Very interesting nose here. Hints of overcooked bacon and ... swamp water. 

Mouthfeel: As often with peated whisky, very thick and resinous on the tongue. Heavy body.

Palate: Tar, sailcloth/heavy cotton, fish, and an inherent sweetness I found hard to define but that permeated all the other flavors. In hindsight, that should have been a major clue. With water, a tad salty, and olives emerge. 

Finish: Sweet aura, peat, medicinal notes, smoke. 

Verdict: I should have known this was Glen Scotia from the pervading sweetness among the wild industrial notes. A very nice example of the peated variety. Wild stuff! Worth exploring if you don't mind the peat. Also, the (well-chosen) name really fits in this case. Nice work, SMWS.