A few Glen Scotia and wine


January 29, 2026

A few Glen Scotia and wine

There are also many secret Campbeltowners, which we can assume aren’t Springbanks, but today we’re focusing on a small selection of disclosed Glen Scotias.

Glen Scotia ‘Double Cask’ (46%, OB, Bordeaux red wine cask finish, 2025)

Frankly, for us, these NAS finishes in Bordeaux are the bottom of the malt whisky barrel, only tequila finishes fare worse. But one might stumble upon the odd pleasant surprise… Colour: white wine. Nose: despite the pale hue, it goes straight for strawberry yoghurt and muesli. The rest wanders off into bread dough and brioche territory. Why not? Mouth: the premix character is obvious, with strawberry making a comeback alongside a proper cherry clafoutis. It’s fair enough, especially with a touch of orange cake rounding things out. Finish: rather long, fairly fermentary, youthful, quite yeasty. A splash of blood orange gives the whole thing a bit of a lift on the aftertaste. Comments: it’s all right, but we’ll have forgotten about it by tomorrow morning.
SGP:561 - 77 points.

Glen Scotia 12 yo (46%, OB, 1st fill bourbon, +/-2025)

The last time we tasted the 12, it was back in 2006, it was a different batch, a whole different livery, and we rather liked it (WF 83). Colour: gold. Nose: vastly superior to the Bordeaux finish, much closer to cereal, to the field, the soil, the yeast, the beer, and perhaps even the peninsula itself. Lovely stewed apples, charming cultivated mushrooms, and a very pretty touch of candlewax. Mouth: fruity barley, cakes, scones, muffins and pancakes, all laced with a fine dollop of orange marmalade and that light maritime saltiness which is so delightful. Finish: rather long, on Belgian beer (why not indeed) and apple juice with cinnamon. Apple juice with cinnamon is one of humankind’s finest inventions, in our humble opinion. Comments: this is an average and perfect malt, and we mean ‘average’ in no pejorative sense whatsoever. We’ll stick with our old score.
SGP:551 - 83 points.

Glen Scotia 10 yo 2015/2025 (53.3%, Thompson Bros. for The Whisky Exchange, tawny Port, 317 bottles)

More red wine, though to be fair this time it’s fortified red wine. Colour: gold. Nose: there are herbal infusions here that bolster the red fruit character, which isn’t overdone for once, though cherry still takes the lead, followed by raspberry jelly and, above all, wafts of peony and wild rose. With water: a little more on the herbal side, and indeed more wild rose. Mouth (neat): heavily marked by these red fruits, in jam or liqueur form, especially cherry cake. In short, it’s vanilla and cherry, entirely unchained. With water: it’s good, it’s fresh, it’s fruity, it’s just not really whisky to my mind. Finish: same feelings. Comments: what one might call a cruel dilemma. As a ready-made concoction, it’s impeccable and even very good. As a malt whisky, it’s rather off topic, in my very humble opinion.
SGP:751 - 82 points.

Glen Scotia 10 yo 2014/2025 (55.9%, The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show exclusive, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #1961, 226 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: obviously, this is so much prettier, so much more natural, much closer to barley, fresh wood, soil, humus, mosses, fresh almonds and hazelnuts, and yes, humus again… With water: a brand-new jumper (XL, colour of your choice) and damp earth from the west coast. Mouth (neat): beautiful young malt, very close to the raw ingredients, with just a few lemony touches adding extra spark. With water: yes, very good, quite sharp, salty and lemony, just the way we like them. Finish: long, fresh, incisive and edgy, invigorating. Very faint smokiness. Comments: this sends the wine casks back to the depths where they rightly belong, never to be seen again. Very excellent.
SGP:562 - 87 points.

Glen Scotia 8 yo 2016 (56.5%, Lady of the Glen, Tawny Port finish, cask #892-4, 231 bottles)

It really is hard to dodge red wine these days, you see, but we hold Lady of the Glen in high regard, so you never know… Colour: somewhere between partridge eye and onion skin. Nose: the Port takes centre stage, mostly in the form of raspberry, strawberry and cherry cakes. All in all, it’s more of a very young whisky for our five o’clock tea. And one can’t help but think of those famous blueberry muffins. With water: a brand-new box of cigars, Cuban of course. Cedarwood is very much calling the shots here. Mouth (neat): it’s no longer malt whisky, we’re nearly into PX from Málaga territory to be honest, yet oddly enough, I quite like it. You just have to accept that it’s no longer Scotch whisky, and there you are, psychologically unshackled. Lovely pepperiness too. With water: little cherry cakes, and one must admit that’s rather good. Finish: long, on candied red fruits and pepper. Comments: that’s probably the trick, just forget it’s meant to be a Scottish malt, and your chakras open on the spot.
SGP:651 - 83 points.

Perhaps we’ll still return to classicism to finish. After all, this is whiskyfun, not cherryfun.

Glen Scotia 1992/2003 (62.1%, Gordon & MacPhail, Cask series, refill sherry hogshead, cask #89.92)

We’ve had a lot of trouble with this malt over the past few decades, but now that plenty of whisky has flowed under the bridge, let’s give it one last go, once and for all. Colour: gold. Nose: not easy, dominated by spruce and washing powder. It’ll likely need a good shake to wake it up… With water: no luck, it feels like strolling through a warehouse at AliExpress or Temu, or Amazon for that matter. Glues and improbable chemical compounds, Scotch tape, but also some rather lovely caramel. Mouth (neat): a very strange mix of orange zest and extremely, extremely resinous notes, to the point where the whole thing becomes truly bitter. With water: best to abandon ship, as ultimate glue barges in and things turn hazardous, I’d say. Finish: long and very difficult, you’ll need two litres of Perrier to make it out alive (Nestlé, by the way, where’s the cheque?) Comments: no, no, no and no, forever. So very un-G&M, but maybe there was an accident in the first place, more than twenty years ago. Even G&M can fail, imagine that.
SGP:271 - 55 points.

Check the index of all Glen Scotia we've tasted