Slainte-Mhath
Glen Scotia Victoriana Cask Strength
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
January 28, 2024 (edited June 16, 2024)
Some reviewers argue that age statements are becoming less important, but I've to disagree. That said, there are a few exceptions. The nose of Glen Scotia Victoriana is very old school, combining porridge, spiced oranges and tobacco with sea spray, sweet licorice and peppermint. Loads of spices and citrus fruits kick off the punchy arrival before aniseed, wood smoke and ginger unfold. There is definitely some older stock in here. Cinnamon, brown sugar and hints of salt sparkle in the savory finish. Credit where credit is due, this malt has a lot going for it!
RATING: 4.0/5.0 stars ≙ 87 pts → FIRST-CLASS
75.0
EUR
per
Bottle
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@cascode Thanks for the insight on the cask composition of this malt. The older stock really helps to lift the spirit, this is craftfully blended. My criticism regarding NAS bottlings did not target new distilleries, we know approximately how old their stock is. Putting a QR code on the label like Ardnamurchan does is the way to go.
@Slainte-Mhath There are some wretched NAS bottlings (often TRE releases) that are almost certainly inventory-cleaning exercises for the distillery, but there is also a lot of good young whisky being released by emerging distilleries (Lochlea, Cotswolds, Ardnamurchan etc) who use NAS branding because they know that putting something like "4 year old" on a label is the kiss of death for sales, so I wouldn't dismiss all NAS expressions out of hand. That said, I still like to see an age statement and the young distilleries will all start releasing them in time, I'm sure.
@Slainte-Mhath I can tell you with certainty that this expression currently contains whiskies of up to about 20 years old, but the oldest stock accounts for less than 10% by volume. The "average" age overall (accounting for age by volume) is around 10 years. The initial batches (when it was 51.5% abv) had even older whiskies and a slightly older average age, but the expression was later reformulated, which was when the abv of the batches changed to 54.2%
In my opinion, this whole debate about NAS whiskies and age statements being less important is nonsense. We know that more often than not, NAS whiskies are an excuse to dump younger, often more immature stock into batches, hoping the customer wouldn't notice. This whole talk about 'more flexibility' is a ruse. That's why I rarely buy and review NAS whiskies - age statements are important, and I am not willing to sacrifice them because it is convenient for the industry to do so.
Additional comment: Glen Scotia Victoriana was completely off my radar before it won the OSWAs as best single malt in 2022. Is it the best whisky in the world? Of course not, but I'd recommend to give it a try if you haven't.