Scotland, Campbeltown: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

Advertisers on this page have been carefully selected. (see list)
Texte Français

Glen Scotia

Distillery description Tasting notes

The distillery

For information about the distillery, please click on the photo.

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

See Help 0 - 40 € 40 - 80 € 80 - 120 € 120 - 160 € 160 - 200 € 200 - 240 € 240 - 280 € > 280 €
Glen Scotia: Official bottlings
 

Glen Scotia 14 years
Age
14 years
Alcohol
 43%
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros

The colour is old gold with amber glints. The nose is light, fresh and pleasant with some hints of citrus, cereals, spices and iodine.
The palate does not entirely confirm the nose and has a light and sweet texture.
The finis is short, salty and herbal.

(la Maison du Whisky)

About 30 distilleries were operating in the Campbeltown area not so long ago, and fortunately the area could preserve a limited production for the Glen Scotia distillery. The 14 y.o. version is really an amazing whisky, combining sweetness and spices to a pleasant medicinal aftertaste. Iodine is also a characteristic of the smell of this remarkable single malt. A lovely finish, although a bit too short.

The nose reveals a strange freshness, with some very discrete orange hints on a malted background. The expectations created by the first nosing are not really followed in the palate, however, the taste is very pleasant, very fresh with some slightly spiced notes. The finis is too short, but the whole results in a very nice bottle.

A rather expressive nose, with clear and pleasant fruity notes on a barley an sea breeze background with some discrete hints of coffee. The expectations issued by the nose are not confirmed in the palate; Despite the diversity of tastes and aromas, the announce complexity the nose announced is not really present, and an impression of (good) pear alcohol dominates. The finish is quite short.

The nose is marked by cereals with clear toffee hints. Not very expressive and on a rather limited flavour palette. Some vanilla on the background.
The mouth is very similar to the nose. Not more complex. Toffee, vanilla and cereals, in a pleasant but not spectacular whole.
The finish prolongs exactly the nose and the mouth. No flaw but no surprise neither.
  Back to summary table

Glen Scotia
12 years
Age
12 years
Alcohol
 40%
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
Glen scotia 12
A very nice nose, clear and straight away, very spicy (pepper) where some sherry hints and hay smell on the background. A very nice complexity. The mouth confirms the nose, with nice spicy hints, clear chocolate notes, plum hints and a warm finihs, pleasant with nice "pruneaux d'agen" aftertaste. The whole is exceptionaly complex, pleasat and without any aggressivity. A very nice whisky anyway.
What a surprise, after the blind tasting, to discover it is a Glen Scotia 12 yo...
Back to summary table

Glen Scotia
Heavily Peated Single Malt
Cask #525
Age
 6 years
Alcohol
 45%
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
Glen Scotia heavily peated single malt
The nose is clearly marked by sea spray and peat and detects hints which are both medicinal and fruity. A very nice balance between both rather different types of smells seem to reign. After a while, some cut grass whiffs come in addition of this already pleasant nose and gives it all its complexity.
In the mouth, peat merges with fruits (green apple) and give a nice and contrasted impression of a discrete acidity mixed with a light bitterness, a refined woody hint.
The finish is long and keeps the memory of the discrete bitterness and the peat.

Comment by Johannes Sauer

Cask #518
Colour: bright, clear apple juice
A very fresh nose, not dominated by peat, sea salt combined with a surprisingly clear fruity approach. Ripe pears, bitter almonds and a fresh breeze from the sea in a very well balanced relation.
On the palate the full peat shows up, mixed with a sublime sweetness.
Long and warm finish, the fruits disappear, the peat lingers on and on. Another great contribution to the revival of this a bit underrated brand.

Back to summary table
Glen Scotia: Independent bottlings
 

Glen Scotia
1991
Signatory Vintage
Age
 9 years
Alcohol
 43%
Cask
 Sherry
Particularity
 Single Cask
Bottler
 Signatory
=25 euros< 25 euros
 

Glen Scotia is an amazing distillery, dying and helped by its only local concurrent, Springbank who does not want to see this historical monument disappear for ever.... It would be a pity. This Signatory version is pleasant but I prefer the 14 y.o. official distillery version. It remains a good bottle with the typical character of Campbeltown, somewhere between the continent and the Isle of Islay.

A second tasting partially denies the first one. This malt gives pleasure from the very first nosing and the taste, between sweet and smoke is rather pleasant. A nice finish does not temper the general impression, and the rating this time is higher.

  Back to summary table
28 - 2