Glen Scotia Victoriana

Nose: Cotton candy and sweet candy corn, fruit punch, underlying citrus. A rest in the glass brings out non-distinct wine barrel notes. Palate: Light, juicy fruit chewing gum, very sweet Finish: Medium-short, smooth vanilla and sweet oak

Another bonus sample from the SDT. This time we head to Campbeltown and the Glen Scotia distillery. Victoriana is a NAS single malt that is taken from the distillery’s reserve warehouse. Bottled at a hefty 51.5% ABV, is non chill filtered and natural color of amber honey. The nose is strong and powerful. Perfumed and floral up front. Maple, sherry, mineral - seashells and gravel. Gentle earthy peat and slight smoke. Charred oranges and tangerine marmalade. The sherry and maple notes intensify with a little time. Green and red grapes, cherries, sherry infused oak, cinnamon, allspice and some raisins. The longer it sits the more the mineral notes become more prominent, but the maple/sherry always hangs around. Water brings out vanilla, caramel, toffee, some light milk chocolate notes. Dehydrated apples, a touch of cereal malt and honey. More clearly defined oranges and tangerines. Really a great nose on this baby. The palate is sherry forward with a bit of heat, but not really a spicy heat if that makes sense. The pepper spice shows up soon afterward, but not too bad at all. Mineral peat but little to no smoke, pretty typical of Campbeltown in my experience. Oak soaked with orange oil, allspice, a little maple but nothing compared to the nose and dark cherries. Water brings vanilla, chocolate, more oranges/tangerines. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is mouth coating and mouthwatering. The finish is medium long with sherry, oak, pepper, light oranges and cherries. A very good single malt...great even. It has a bit of everything. Sherry, peat, sweet, savory, earthy. With or without water it’s a great dram. One of the few Campbeltown whiskies I’ve truly enjoyed. Thanks to @Telex for the sample. 4.25 Cheers

Vanilla nose. Suuuuuuper smooth rolling into the tongue. Very little spice. Fruit flavor with heavy doses of vanilla.

Campbeltown has, for me, become the new Islay. I think there’s more things going right than wrong there. Sure, you get an occasional bad pour, but in general, the Springbanks and it’s brethren puts out pretty good ones at a price that doesn’t involve selling your organs ( hey Macallan...that’s meant for you). I really liked this one, courtesy of my Kardashian wanna-be internet celeb @Telex, as part of the final trading round. Brine, wet tarry rope...palette is similar, but a bit of green forest floor added for good measure. Thanks Jason for the sample!

It is a rare thing for a distillery to sell a no-age statement whisky for $100 or more, but it's also rare to find a distillery putting out a real connoisseur's whisky with a meaty ABV and no chill filtration. Victoriana might not have an age statement, but it doesn't lack for anything else. This may be the best lightly peated single malt that I've tasted, although to be honest, I'm not even sure that it's peated. It may just be some old sherry butts giving it a smoky edge. The nose showcases forest floor, oak, salted toffee and honeyed oats. On the palate, I get some apricot but also tobacco, with a creamy, lightly sweet texture. The finish also has some cream to it, along with that wisp of smoke that makes me suspect this is lightly peated. I really like the fact that this whisky walks a delicate tightrope between savory or bitter flavors and sweet ones, and makes it all the way across to safety.

Strong, sharp, huge aftertaste burn

Great dram. Similar to how the Tullibardine Murray is a step up from their core range this to has the similar rich viscous vanilla, honey and creme brulee flavour going on. 4.25 from me.