Glen Scotia Victoriana (NAS)

I was lucky enough to sample this elegant Campbeltown whisky at my favorite liquor store, Arrowine in Washington DC.  Every Thursday they do a liquor tasting, and on the menu today was this intriguing Glen Scotia. 

Campbeltown is the smallest region of Scotch whisky, with only three distilleries at present: Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia. The region is located on the long southwestern peninsula called the Mull of Kintyre, and is located close to the isles of Islay and Jura; Campbeltown itself is a small town near the end of the peninsula.  


Once home to 34 distilleries, Campbeltown was hit terribly hard by the First World War, and almost all the distilleries closed. Famous originally for a distinctive oily, smoky character, there is more variety these days. 

Glen Scotia is quite small, at only seven employees, and after a recent revamping they offer three core expressions: 15 year, Double Cask, and Victoriana. Victoriana has no age statement, is colored but not chill-filtered, and is bottled at a pleasing 51.5% ABV. 

Nose: Very gentle and muted. Starts rather closed off, but opens with time. Toffee in spades, some light vanilla. A very faint oily smoke. Lots of spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, maybe even paprika. My tasting companion agreed emphatically about the spices. 

Mouthfeel: Quite silky, a little thin. 

Palate: What immediately strikes me is that despite being 51.5% alcohol, there is absolutely no alcohol burn at all. No bite whatsoever - very smooth and tame. I get more toffee malt flavors, some sweet lemon cookies, more of the spices, some uncertain fruit (blackberries are strongest), yet no smoke at all. Honey and caramel towards the back end, when a lot of bitter oak tannins take over and rapidly dry the palate. 

Finish: Wood, pepper, vanilla. Still, an interesting finish - much like Bowmore, after the main flavors are faded and gone, you are somehow left with smoke on your tongue. There is a certain tobacco element as well. 

Verdict: This is a rich, smooth, fairly sophisticated whisky, and I am curious to try more than the two samples I had. Priced at around $127, this is a tough one to justify taking home on an impulse, but it's very intriguing nonetheless. I do wish there was a little more of the Campbeltown oil-and-smoke like you find in Springbank and Longrow, which might have added some complexity to the toffee and caramel malt flavors, but even without it this is worthy stuff.