I’ve mentioned before that some of the bottles I have been finding I have held for long enough to forget their story. This bottle isn’t one of them.

I bought this much later than the release date and well after I thought all bottles would be gone. In Glasgow one day, which since Covid changed how office working..works is a rarity, I stopped in at The Good Spirits Co in Bath Street. I like to pop in there and just see what interests me. Sometimes I leave with nothing but invariably I leave with something. I like to use shops like Good Spirits to pick up interesting or unusual stuff. The kind of thing you can’t just get in a supermarket, posted next day on Amazon or the massive online retailers. While there is massive batch numbers of the malts festival bottles now they do still get bought and so that is the story of how I got the last bottle on the shelf.

The Whisky

Islay distilleries have been releasing festival edition bottles for a while. Always good for a quick flip these were bottles which got people to make the journey over to Islay for the festival in more recent times though supply appears to be outstripping demand and more are appearing to be sold online. Glen Scotia in the last 4 years or so have started following suit but they make their bottles widely available through their distribution network.

I have bought and written about others in the past like Glen Scotia Rum Cask Finish – Campbeltown Malts Festival 2019 and Glen Scotia 10 Year Old 2008 – Campbeltown Malts Festival 2018 but for 2022 the theme was seated whisky with a PX sherry finish. Specifically the cask strength whisky was made from maturing distillation from 2013 for 7.5 years in first fill ex-bourbon barrels before 12 months in first fill Pedro Ximenez hogsheads. I think I paid somewhere around 50-60 for the bottle which is good value where the spirit tax alone for this 56.6% alcohol is nearly £18 and VAT is 20%

Tasting Notes

Glen Scotia’s signature sea spray can be detected on the nose, with a gentle smoke reminiscent of a fading bonfire on a Campbeltown beach. On the palate runny treacle, rich spices and an underlying peat influence come together in harmonious celebration

Official tasting notes

Colour – very light

Nose – wood smoke and a sharp salinity that combines with a sickly sweet glaze which does overpower like a smoke baked ham swimming in treacle.

Palate – drinkable with or without water there is black pepper, more woody smoke and top notes of sharp concentrated dark citric fruit.

Finish – very drying and tannic

Conclusions

On paper this is right up my street with young volatile peated whisky completed with PX sherry has always been a big winner but this took a while to get through and at times felt like a chore. Perhaps the 12 months is too long to finish a whisky under 10 years old?

Or maybe I am just a wimp now.