Slainte-Mhath
Glen Scotia 15 Year
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
May 29, 2020 (edited July 12, 2021)
Believe it or not, Campbeltown has more to offer than Springbank. Glen Scotia has always been a bit under the radar, but it has a lot to offer as a distillery! The 15-year-old expression has an intriguing nose, featuring salted caramel, pastries and apricots. Porridge, honey and floral scent add to the complexity. Spicy, aromatic and increasingly cask-dominated, the palate is balanced out by subtle sweetness, bitter walnuts and a touch of arugula. Lemon balm, nutmeg and salt linger in the resinous finish. Almost like Clynelish 14, a singular malt with character.
RATING: 3.9/5.0 stars ≙ 86 pts → FIRST-CLASS [-]
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@PBMichiganWolverine Yes. I have 10 samples lined up 🤤
@Richard-ModernDrinking are you in the tasting ? I didn’t do the Glen Scotia one.
Just tasting it for the first time - it’s great!
I have just noticed that Ralfy scored this malt with 92 points, which is rather high by his standards. I know he likes this flavor profile, and he might have tasted one of the early batches. Not sure how much batch variation is going on here, but 92 pts seems very generous.
@PBMichiganWolverine Whiskybase has 13 administrators of which I am one of them, but I am not the page owner. My main responsibility is to manage the team of 7 moderators which reviews and edits all images uploaded to the base.
@Slainte-Mhath i just noticed as well—-didn’t realize you were somewhat the whiskybase royal. Whisky base is my go-to source for avg scores and availability
@Richard-ModernDrinking Ah yes, I just checked and their virtual tasting event has already happened. Enjoy your tasting :-)
@cascode It’s a private club event in lieu of the festival
@Richard-ModernDrinking Is that their part of the Campbeltown Festival? I received something about it in my email but taking part was too much effort. Have a great time!
@Richard-ModernDrinking Thanks, we are constantly adding new features, at the moment working on barcode and label recognition to allow finding bottles in the database by using your smartphone camera.
@Slainte-Mhath I just noticed you are Whiskybase royalty. Been using it more after discovering the app and appreciating its performance vs other brands!
@Richard-ModernDrinking Great! Say hello to Iain from me! He'll know me from Whiskybase.
@Slainte-Mhath I have an online tasting with Iain tomorrow accompanied by an epic selection of samples. I’m ignorant of Glen Scotia so very curious.
@cascode Thanks, I think this is the expression to go for. I tasted Glen Scotia 25yo as well, but was rather underwhelmed by it.
Great review and spot on with the rating. This was one of their best recent expressions.
@Jan-Kaselitz The 15yo Glen Scotia is a treat, but only if you enjoy oak and the slightly bitter/dry flavor profile. If you have a sweet tooth, you should probably avoid this malt (or start with a sample).
@Slainte-Mhath interesting. I just got a sample of the 18y. Since I liked the Springbank 10 / 12 / 18 my local whisky shop dealer recommended trying GLen Scotia as well.
Additional comment: A shout-out to my friend Iain J McAlister, who does a great job as distillery manager and master distiller of Glen Scotia. It was a pleasure to meet you on several occasions, and thanks for an interesting masterclass in Berlin last year! It showed me that Campbeltown is more than Springbank.