After a couple of days break to recuperate from a small injury and concentrate on editing my first video, it’s time to dive back into funk. And Funk with a capital F, diving right into the funky whisky town per excellence, Campbeltown. In my next three reviews, I will sample the entry-level original bottlings of the Wee Toos’s three famous distilleries, starting with today’s review of the Glen Scotia Double Cask.
There is little argument that this region has firmly established itself in the hearts of many of us whisky fans. Not surprisingly, this has brought hype, a lot of FOMO and attracted my aechnemesis, flippers, looking for a profit. Springbank, and progressively Kilkerran, have become unicorn bottles for many, especially with their special editions and older bottlings. Meanwhile, Glen Scotia remains (mostly) widely available and relatively affordable.
TL:DR: Imperfect and fun, hype-free and affordable. You won’t hear me complaining. Pass me another dram of the same, please.
Vote*: 6.5 Good Stuff, but with a little extra
Born in 2015
The Glen Scotia Double Cask I review today is part of the new core range launched by the distillery in 2015, together with the 15-year-old and the Victoriana. This was the second core range launch after the distillery reopened in 1999/2000 after a rough patch in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The first core range release is the infamous Disco Coos release. If you know, you know. And if you don’t, and are keen to see what are probably the ugliest, yet endearing, whisky bottles ever produced, take a peek here.
If you wanted to be pedantic, you could rightly argue that Glen Scotia’s lineup entry malt is the 40% abv 10-year-old. But hey ho, sue me. I’d rather choose the cheaper 46% ABV non-chill-filtered bottle even if it has no age statement. I do want to try that Glen Scotia 10 at some point. Just not enough to buy a bottle. I will wait until I can find it by the glass.
I grabbed this bottle just before visiting Campbeltown last March. After the trip, the Double Cask’s barrel makeup (ex-bourbon finished in PX) had me slightly worried. When I visited the distillery for the Master Blender Warehouse Tasting, I realised I love how bright the Glen Scotia spirit comes across when aged exclusively in ex-Bourbon casks. Meanwhile, the single PX cask in that tasting was too heavy-handed for my taste. Would the double cask ageing used for this bottle allow the spirit to shine or would the PX overpower it?
Glen Scotia Double Cask
Specs
Price paid: € 33.90
Lot/bottled date: 22/167, 19/8/2022
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: No
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: First fill Bourbon finished in PX casks
Tasting Notes
Colour: A rich amber. It would be lovely to know it is only coming from the PX casks and not added caramel colour.
Nose: This is not a shy dram. It immediately packs a spicy, sweet, fruity and quite woody nose. There is toffee with vanilla and baking spice, allspice and mace mostly. The fruit is the fresh estery pear and apple, with a touch of saltiness, characteristic of the Glen Scotia new make. The PX cask brings raisins, figs and even dried cherries. There is even a light tobacco and green walnut note. And then the oaky notes, a bit overbearing, make themselves known. There is a hint of a woodworking shop aroma in the background. Once I recognise it, it becomes more and more prominent.
Taste and finish: The palate is bold continuing on the notes present on the nose. The first taste is spicy, Then caramel and toffee. Some dried fruits are there, vanilla, a touch of sea spray and a touch of barley sugar. It is a bit hot, which is not surprising coming from a Non-Age-Stated whisky. While Glen Scotia makes no statement about the age makeup of the Double Cask, other online sources mention an average age of around 6 years, which would make sense.
The finish is slightly underwhelming, medium short and quite drying, woody and tannic. There are some spice and caramel notes playing second fiddle to the oaky aroma lingering on my palate. They add some depth, but not enough to provide the same intense flavour that the Glen Scotia Double Cask shows on the nose and palate.
Closing thoughts
Vote: 6.5
Fun, even with its slightly overbearing oaky edges. If you want an affordable, easily enjoyable dram unbridled by whisky geek hipe for a great price, this is one of the two best options available. The other being Campbeltown Loch. While I continue to prefer Glen Scotia aged in ex-Bourbon, here the PX influence enriches the young whisky rather than overpowering it.
* Votes are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Would I buy it again?
A Campbeltown whisky for under 40€ which is fun, enjoyable and unaffected by hype? Do you even need to ask? Sure, it is a bit young and woody. But as the saying goes, flaws create personality. Definitely a top contender in the daily drinker category.
Would I offer this to a new whisky drinker?
There might be another question to answer first. Is Campbeltown too challenging for a new-ish drinker? I have heard many whisky fans talk about Campbeltown whiskies like Springbank, Kilkerran and Even Glen Scotia’s like the Victoriana, as bottles that need a bit of experience to be appreciated.
I don’t see that problem here. There isn’t a huge amount of funky notes beside the fruity estery punchiness on the nose, so even newcomers to whisky should be able to relate and enjoy the Glen Scotia Double Cask. The oaky undertone might be a bit off-putting to some, but in my experience that is not exclusively limited to new drinkers.
Stay tuned for the next review coming from Campbeltown youngest distillery, for the time being.
After my review, I always find it interesting to look at other bloggers/vloggers opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Glen Scotia Double Cask I enjoyed:
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