그..그냥 산책 나와서 방앗간 참새 마냥 와인앤모어 구경갔다가 할인행사 중이길래 나도 모르게 업어온 아이. 그동안 마셔본 캠벨타운식(?)의 위스키들은 아직까진 실패를 경험해본적 없고, 일전에 마셨던 빅토리아나CS가 좋은 기억으로 남아 있었기 때문에 쉽게 데려올 수 있었던 것 같다. 향은 발렌타인21년에서 느껴졌던 약간의 청사과 같은 향과 결이 비슷하다. 코를박고 조금만 들이키면 부즈가 꽤 섞여들어온다. 달달한 향도 함께. px셰리 피니쉬의 영향이 있는것 같다.
맛은 첫혀에 닿을땐 달달함을 유지하지만 중반부 부터 꽤 드라이하면서 스파이시가 다소 느껴짐. 피니쉬에서는 역시 캠벨타운식의 피트&스모키로 마무리 됨. 10만원도 안하는 가격에 캠벨타운 스타일을 간접체험 할 수 있고 46%라는 도수도 만족 스러움. 빅토리아나CS때도 느꼈지만 스프링뱅크에 너무 가려져서 빛을 못보는것 같아 안쓰럽다. 스프링뱅크는 저세상 간지 오래되었기 때문에(킬커란도 미쳐가고...)주머니 사정을 고려하면 좋은 대안이라고 할 수 있겠다.
쨌든,캠벨타운 증류소들이 주는 셰리피트라는 장르가 참 좋다. 과하지 않게, 그렇다고 가볍지도 않게. 당분간 잘지내보자.😋
#글렌스코샤더블캐스크 #캠벨타운 #셰리피트 #싱글몰트 #위스키
I-I was just out for a walk and, like a sparrow that can never fly past a rice mill, I dropped into Wine&More to browse. There was a sale on, so before I knew it I'd carried this one home. The Campbeltown-style (?) whiskies I've had so far have never let me down, and the Victoriana CS I had a while back left a good memory, so I think that's why it was so easy to bring it home. The aroma is similar in texture to the slight green-apple note I got from Ballantine's 21. Stick your nose in and inhale just a little, and quite a bit of booze comes along with it. Together with a sweet aroma. That seems to be the influence of the PX sherry finish.
On the palate, it holds its sweetness when it first hits the tongue, but from the mid-palate on it gets quite dry with a fair bit of spice. The finish, as expected, wraps up with Campbeltown-style peat & smoke. For under 100,000 won you get an indirect taste of the Campbeltown style, and the 46% ABV is satisfying too. I felt this with the Victoriana CS as well, but it seems so overshadowed by Springbank that it never gets its moment in the spotlight, which is a shame. Springbank's prices went off to another world long ago (and Kilkerran is going crazy too...), so considering the state of my wallet, I'd call this a good alternative.
Anyway, I really love this 'sherry-peat' genre that the Campbeltown distilleries offer. Not overdone, but not light either. Let's get along nicely for a while. 😋
This winter I wandered out for a leisurely night walk and, like a sparrow that can never fly past a rice mill, I fluttered my little sparrow wings right into Wine&More,
and as if it had been waiting for me, it was on sale for 99,000 won. So, as a rational consumer who never misses an opportunity,
I smartly carried this one home with zero information and zero thought.
(When I came to, it was in my hand and I was smiling. Maybe because it was so cold that day...?)
I'd tried the Glen Scotia Victoriana CS before and was really happy with it, and the Campbeltown whiskies I'd had so far had never let me down, so I could bring it home without much deliberation.
...is the reason I came up with later, after getting home.
..........
Glen Scotia Double Cask.
As the label says, it's an American oak barrel + PX sherry cask finish product.
A safe, easy-going combo.
According to Glen Scotia, it's aged 11-12 years.
Roughly the spec of the entry-level whiskies from your usual popular distilleries.
First of all - and this is something I can only say after trying it -
personally I think Glen Scotia is way too underrated, stuck in the shadow of the J&A Mitchell crew.
(Nah, actually underrated is great~ thank you~~~~ please stay underrated!)
When you say 'Campbeltown', J&A Mitchell's 'Springbank' is naturally the distillery that springs to mind right away, but once you drink Glen Scotia you'll see it's also a place that makes pretty decent whisky.
Personally, if you ask me whether Springbank 10 - which at current market prices in Korea easily costs over 300,000 won - is really worth that much, I'd say, hmm, dunno? Nothing but question marks.
(Sorry for comparing.... but come on, it's a bit much...)
Of course Springbank 10 is a delicious whisky, with a variety of flavours and aromas at the level a whisky of that age can show, and a balance good enough that none of them feels out of place. It's absolutely a whisky that deserves a round of applause, clap clap. But if they tell me, 'Well now, dear customer, to get to know that taste in detail you'll need to pay over 300,000 won?',
Huh???????????????????????????????????? ........
As I've mentioned in other posts, I think a good whisky is one that has its own character, is complex yet well balanced across all those flavours and aromas, is approachable for the general public, and on top of that comes at an acceptable price.
From that standpoint, the current Springbank 10 (feat. Kilkerran 12) is way too hard to get and just not good value.
Huh???? Wait, you're saying Springbank 10 is bad???
(No, that's not what I mean... Springbank 10 is delicious... it IS delicious... I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying....)
So what's good then, you ask??
This one, right here~ Glen Scotia Double Cask.
It's one of the whiskies I was really satisfied with among the ones I've tried recently that you can get for under 100,000 won.
First, the aroma - I got a similar feel from Ballantine's 21 - there's a slight green apple, specifically the sweet, fresh aroma of green apple that's been soaking in sugar. But quite a bit of alcohol booze comes along with it too.
On the palate, maybe because of the PX sherry, it holds its sweetness when it first hits the tongue, but from the mid-palate on it gets quite dry with a fair bit of spice.
On the finish, it raises its hand going 'A-actually... I'm Campbeltown too!!', and a light Campbeltown-style peat and smoke softly blankets over everything.
For under 100,000 won you can experience the Campbeltown style, and I like that it's 46% ABV too.
I think it fully delivers the value you could hope for at that price.
If by any chance someone (not that it'll ever happen) said to me, 'You've been working so hard buying all that whisky, here, go treat yourself to a tasty Springbank 10,' and handed me 300,000-400,000 won, I'd go 'Yes sir! Yes sir! Understood!!', bow at a full 90 degrees, take the money, and buy, for example, a Bowmore 18 Deep & Complex + Glen Scotia Double Cask combo.
Anyone want to give me money in exchange for a 90-degree bow?
..........
Anyway, it's definitely a delicious, well-made whisky, and it's such a pity that it seems underrated because it's overshadowed by the Campbeltown thugs - and also, nice, actually great~~
Don't go chasing weird stuff just to look cool; keep your pricing sensible and please stay a whisky that's always easily within reach, just like now. Looks like it recently switched to a new design; if it pops up at a nearby liquor store for under 100,000 won, I'll have to buy it again.
