Glen Scotia The Dragon

@GlenScotiaMalts have just released the second in their series based on the town's famous Cross - Icons of Campbeltown.

Last year it was The Mermaid, this year is all about The Dragon, let's find out a little more!

Standing at the bottom of Main Street in Campbeltown, next to the Royal Hotel / Black Sheep Pub and the Harbour Quay is Campbeltown Cross.

It's a medieval carving, with Celtic designs, dating from around 1375. Made of blueish-green schist, probably quarried near Loch Sween. The Cross is 3.3m high with the largest disc-head of any known cross in Scotland at 81cm.

One face depicts St. Mary and St. John below a pair of other saints. On the left arm of the cross is St. Michael slaying a dragon, on the other is a simple foliage design. The reverse of the cross has a mermaid and sea-monster at the top, with a pair of peculiar animals on each side arm.

The cross was erected at Kilkivan Chapel on a hillside, west of Campbeltown just before Machrihanish. Kilkivan was named after St Kevin, an Irish saint and abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow.

The cross was moved to Campbeltown in the early to mid 1600's after the reformation. Originally it stood on Main Street outside the Town Hall, but it was taken down for safety during the Second World War and afterwards re-erected in it's present location.

Glen Scotia have used some of the iconography of the cross as the theme for their new five part limited edition annual series ‘The Icons of Campbeltown’:

"Once a meeting point for celebration and storytelling, The Campbeltown Market Cross stands proudly as an enduring symbol of our united community spirit. Carved into the face of the cross are several saints and beasts, shrouded in myth and lore. On the left arm of the cross, St Michael backed by his army of supporters heroically slays a fire-breathing dragon with his spear. 

Ravenous fires were something of a theme in Campbeltown's Victorian whisky-making heyday, claiming and laying waste to several of the town's distilleries. On December 17th 1899, when neighbouring distillery Dalintober went up in flames, it was the workers from Glen Scotia along with heroic community members that together fought the fierce blaze and saved the distillery from an early fate. You'll find no living saints or dragon slayers in Campbeltown, just a community that endures against the odds under its prevailing spirit of unity.

Our partner artist, Joel Holtzman sat sipping a dram while reading about our town's lost distilleries when he was inspired to create our fiery red dragon. This medium-peated limited edition is as silky as dragon's smoke and as bold as our community spirit. Finished for a minimum of six months in ex-Barolo red wine casks and bottled at batch strength, it is a decadently smoky single malt with hints of warm red candied fruits, and a long dry spicy finish."

Following on from the 12yo 'The Mermaid', "The Dragon" is a 14yo medium peated single malt matured in ex-bourbon barrels followed by an 6 month finish in Barolo Red Wine casks before being bottled at 56.8% ABV, natural colour without chill filtration.  The result is "a whisky with a sweet and nutty character with subtle maritime nuances, and a signature Glen Scotia saltiness on the palate."

Let see what the distillery say:

                

Distillery notes:

As silky as the dragon’s fire and as bold as our community spirit. Decadently smoky with hints of fiery red candied fruits and berries, the finish is long with a dry spicy endnote. A subtle maritime salinity leaves no doubt as to which distillery this limited edition comes from.

Nose: Decadent waves of smoke greet the senses, followed by aromas of fiery red candied fruits and wild berries, delivering a vibrant and alluring bouquet.

Palate: The palate is rich and bold, with layers of sweet, smoky red fruits and a hint of maritime salinity that reminds you of Campbeltown’s coastal location. The influence of the Barolo cask imparts a unique fruit-forward sweetness balanced by the peat's gentle earthiness.

Finish:  The finish is long and satisfying, with a dry, spicy end note that lingers, leaving subtle traces of smoke and salt on the palate.

The maturation in Barolo red wine barrels gives exceptional complexity and depth. It also provides an interplay of fruity aromas dominated by red berries and a subtle, medium peatiness. This whiskey reflects the rough, maritime influences of Campbeltown, which are emphasized by a characteristic salt note.

Let's see what it's like....

My thoughts:

  

Info: 14yo, 56.8% ABV, Natural colour, NCF, c14,000 bottles

Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line of beads which hang for ages before falling as slow thin oily legs.

 

Nose: Dried seaweed to start, lots of salinity, gentle smoke and some baked apples - you could almost be standing on the Loch shore at Campbeltown! All standard Glen Scotia DNA from Iain and the team. Then things start to get a little bit more interesting: berries, cherries and candied peel start you down the Christmas sherry style road before the salt and smoke bring you back to the town. There's some tropical fruit notes and then with a little time and air the wine cask's berry notes come through: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries.

Palate: Thick, dry arrival, some berry notes before the smoke and salinity blanket everything. A few more sips offer sweetness: tropical fruit and berries before again the dry salty smoke takes over. Dry peppery spice left on the tongue as the liquid disappears. A little dilution calms the smoke and salinity bringing the berries to the fore, there some lovely sweet cherry notes here too.

Finish: Lingering smoke, salinity and dry peppery spice.

 

Overall: An unusual dram, 13ish yo ex-bourbon peated Glen Scotia fighting against the wine cask finish and seemingly winning on every sip. What the wine casks have done is added a huge dryness which goes well with the salinity. Maybe a slightly longer finish would have allowed the berry notes to shine though more? A little dilution did help though.

Again I'm disappointed with the price - it's shot up again - the Seasonal Releases were £65, £75 and £80, the first Icons release was £90, this one is on Glen Scotia's website for £98 but is a little cheaper on other sites. If it keeps going at this rate next year's release will be over my £100 limit...