I couldn’t look at whiskies in the 14-18 year old range without looking at one of my permashelf whiskies. So, after the Glencadam 15, today it is time to review the Glen Scotia 15. I cannot hide that I do have a soft spot for this distillery. The Double Cask is a great entry-level bottle, even if it is caramel-coloured, and after visiting the distillery and trying some incredible single casks, I fell in love with the spirit. It has become one of the few distilleries with multiple bottles in my collection. And yet, not everyone seems to feel the same way.
Disclaimer: The title of this series of reviews in no way encourages underage drinking; it is a tribute to the Undertones and their famous hit, “Teenage Kicks,” one of the best songs to come out of the UK punk scene.
TL:DR: A great expression of Glen Scotia’s distillate at a very fair price
Score: 8, Something Special
Glen Scotia progressing or regressing?
About a month ago, I was reading Dramface’s most recent review of the Glen Scotia 18, and I was slightly surprised by the mix of opinions. Great liquid for most, sure, but a lot of critiques of the pricing in the comments. And, overall, a feeling that after the initial excitement about Glen Scotia revamping its range, some of the whisky community might be losing some interest. That surprised me, considering the high opinion many of us have of this distillery, as Dramface’s own Top 40 distillery list reveals, with Glen Scotia holding a very respectable 7th place overall.
A great chunk of the critiques focused on pricing. Something that certainly wasn’t helped by the recent release of a 50-year-old £35,000.
Enshittified pricing?
While the pricing of the core lineup remains competitive, I agree with the criticism of the special edition pricing. Glen Scotia appears to be levying a bit of a Campbeltown tax on its special releases. And when you are not Springbank, that can go down like a lead balloon. And sales of these pricier special editions seem to reflect that.
Seeing how Campbeltown Festival Specials and Special Releases alike are anything but flying off the shelves (at least in Europe), I do hope Glen Scotia realigns pricing to what the market is willing to pay. Until then, I’ll keep looking for discount offers on their bottles, which are a pretty regular occurrence if you have a bit of patience. But, besides what you or I think about pricing, is the quality there?
Improving quality?
The counterpart to the pricing criticism in the article was an observation about Glen Scotia’s improving quality. Which relates to the story of Glen Scotia’s rebirth. Closed for most of the 80s and 90s, the Loch Lomond group finally took full control of the distillery in 2000. And yet, it took a few years, and the infamous Disco Coos release, for Glen Scotia to set a new direction. The revamped core range was launched starting in 2015. Has it stayed the same, or has it improved over time?
Luckily, today I have a chance to review the Glen Scotia 15 as a 2023 bottling, so distilled in 2008, a few years after the Loch Lomond group takeover, vs a sample from 2015, distilled in 2000, the very first year of Loch Lomond’s operations. What better chance than comparing the evolution of the two?
Glen Scotia 15 years old
Specs
Price paid: €65.60
Bottled date: 17/04/2023
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: No
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: First fill-Bourbon, refill American oak (ex-Bourbon maybe?) and a short finsih in Oloroso casks.
Tasting Notes
Colour (2023): A rich, golden amber…and a sense of regret that this is not free of caramel colouring. The day the Loch Lomond group abandons caramel colouring for all their 46%+ ABV whiskies, I will be among the first to celebrate.
The 2015 bottling is almost identical, but slightly lighter.
Nose (2023): Having been lucky to visit Glen Scotia distillery, and having tried the new make fresh from the still, I immediately recognise the intensely fruity and slightly maritime spirit character. But rather than fresh fruit, this is baked, baked apples to be precise, stuffed with walnuts, raisins and a dollop of apricot jam, and a sprinkling of lemon zest, cinnamon, ginger and muscovado sugar. There are some estery wood varnish notes (in a good way), a hint of chocolate and red fruits – an extra layer which probably comes from the Oloroso finish.
The difference with the 2015 bottling is striking. The balance between spirit character and cask is flipped, with a lot more cask influence. There are some fruity and estery distillate notes but the overwhelming aromas are toffee, vanilla and oak.
Taste & Finish (2023): Mouthcoating and oily. An initial very light linseed oil aroma quickly makes way to sweet and zesty fruit, spice and malt. Toffee and raspberries, apple, even a little pineapple, ginger and pepper -together with some vanilla creaminess- then malted biscuits. All of that with a large sprinkling of sea salt and some oaky aromas. The finish is all warming ginger, spicy, maritime and slightly oaky. Long.
The 2015, in comparison, is flat. Sweet, oaky and lacking the maritime salinity and zestiness. And a lot more sherried overall. The finish is also shorter, just medium and quite wood-driven.
Score*: 8, Something Special.
Before I get to the review of the 2023 Glen Scotia 15-year-old review, let me tackle the question “Is Glen Scotia improving”? After comparing this latest edition to a 2015 release, I can categorically say that the 2023 version is miles ahead. Brighter, more spirit-driven, and a better spirit at that, zesty maritime, more complex. There is little doubt for me that those eight years made a great difference. Which brings me to my score.
The current Glen Scotia 15-year-old will remain a constant on my shelf – it is a bright, maritime, spirit-driven whisky, with just a tiny touch of funk to remind you where it is from. And for the price (still around €65 in many European markets and at times even available sub €50), it is a gem that I am glad to have available. If it were down to me, this would be a top contender for the Best Value category of the OSWAs.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Glen Scotia 15 I enjoyed:
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