The Basics:
Do I recommend it?: Yes indeed!
Availability: Specialty retail, especially UK-based.
ABV: 51.5%
Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color
General information: n/a
Bottling type: Proprietary
Character: Nutty, fruity and savory.
Score: 90/100
The details:
Originally called simply Scotia, the distillery was founded in 1832 by Steward, Galbraith and Co. It became part of a group known as the West Highland Malt Distillers in 1919; the group was attempting to stave off the imminent collapse of the industry in Campbeltown. The other 5 distilleries in the group all closed; Scotia was saved by Duncan MacCallum, who later took his own life after being scammed out of his savings in 1930. Legend says his ghost haunts the distillery. Following his death, the plant was purchased by Bloch Bros, who renamed it Glen Scotia. After numerous ownership changes and intermittent closures through the later 20th century, it ended up in the Loch Lomond stable in 1994. That firm has gradually been working to promote the brand, with several rebranded bottling series in the 2010s.
The distillery has a rapidly growing reputation among enthusiasts, thanks in part to the ownership’s efforts at promotion, in part to the quality of the whisky, and in part to the faddishness of Campbeltown, which nowadays vies with Islay for supremacy among whisky lovers.
Victoriana was one of the earlier expressions in a new range of malts following a period of relative obscurity for Glen Scotia; the labelling has been changed, both with Victoriana and several of the other malts in the range, however, it continues to be part of an ever-expanding core range (there are also plenty of one-offs these days). The version reviewed here was a gem of a whisky, with lots of nuttiness, richness, and fruitiness alongside a strong current of savoriness and a certain austerity; I cannot guarantee more recent releases, but they seem to have been pretty popular with the community at large, so I think one is likely in for a quality whisky even with newer bottlings.
Glen Scotia Victoriana, 51.5% abv
Bottling Information:
Expression: Victoriana
Bottler: Proprietor
Range: Core
Bottle Code: L2.040.18 09.02.2018 12:24
Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color
Details: Some more recent versions of Victoriana are explicitly described as “cask strength”; this one is reasonably potent, but doesn’t carry the explicit designation.
Price: $70-90
Availability: I actually found this bottle locally at the Kelly Liquors at Mountain Run, but I haven’t seen any there or elsewhere in Albuquerque since. If you’re luckier than I, you might be able to find it at your local retailer, and you can certainly pick it up from some of the usual suspects online, for instance Hard to find Whisky or Royal Mile Whiskies.
Distillery Information:
Region: Campbeltown
Location: Campbeltown, Argyllshire
Geography: Coastal
Date Founded: 1832
Owner: Loch Lomond
Website: https://www.glenscotia.com/
Capacity: 800,000
Plant Summary: n/a
Total expressions sampled: 3
Overall distillery score: n/a
Tasting notes:
Nose: Rich, round, nutty, somewhat fruity, slightly spicy, and slightly sulphury. Brazil nuts. Dried apricots. Sugar plums. A wisp of vanilla extract, and the faintest trace of snuffed candle. Rather complex.
Body: Medium, very soft, rather chewy.
Palate: Potent. Olive oil, soft fruits–apricot, again. Shortbread. Walking a knife’s edge between semi-sweetness, semi-savoriness, and astringency.
Finish: Medium, with the astringency becoming dominant, backed by a slight brininess.
Score: 90/100
Who should buy it?: One of those whiskies I struggle to imagine anyone who actually likes whisky disliking.
Overall thoughts: A really well-made dram; given the cult of Springbank, it’s easy to mistake Glen Scotia as a Campbeltown whisky for those who can’t find or afford Springbank, but it’s much more than that, and this whisky is certainly an excellent spirit in its own right.
If you enjoyed this review and would like to make a small donation to support this site, please click here.
Whisky Considered 