Review by: The Muskox

I’ve said before that every Glen Scotia I’ve had has been completely different from every other Glen Scotia I’ve had. That unique quality of every dram keeps me coming back to try some more.

This is 2020’s Campbeltown Malts Festival bottling. I found the 2019 peated/rum finish bottling to be good but not great, let’s see if… oh man, I almost called it “last year’s”… this bottling is an improvement.

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Distillery: Glen Scotia.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Campbeltown.

ABV: 52.8%, cask strength.

Age: 14 years old. Bottled March 2020.

Cask type: Tawny port cask finish.

Color: Dark gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Sweet and rich smoke. Sulfurous, but not in a rotten eggs way, more of an intense earthy and leatheriness, or, aha, spent fireworks. There’s a gamey savoury note of grilled lamb, seasoned with thyme and cinnamon. Fruity sweetness from the port casks, of course: Blood orange, cherries in syrup, some pomegranate. Darker sweet notes of chocolate, brown sugar, and butterscotch. Black tea with sugar and lemon.

As the whisky rests, the sulfur starts to fade, and is replaced by cool earthy notes of damp moss, pine forest, and eucalyptus.

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives smoky and sweet: charcoal, brown sugar, and peach nectar at first, then getting sweeter more to stewed-fruit richness and malt. Develops to earthy peat smoke and more barbequed lamb. Some ginger, eucalyptus, and rosemary. Chocolate-covered candied orange and fruit-glazed peat reek. Heading into the finish is deep dark chocolate, strong black coffee, and fragrant wood.

Finish: Medium length. Dirty earthy peat reek, just a hint of matchstick sulfur returning. Stewed plums, grapefruit, blood orange, and dried apricots. Strong black coffee. Floral, coconut, and a bit malty.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Easter lamb pyromaniac”

Notes: That’s really quite excellent. It reminds me a little bit of the last Glen Scotia I had, but with that bitterness and sulfur that I didn’t enjoy dialed back to acceptable, nay, delicious levels. There’s a fantastic savoury meaty peat-reek going on here, much richer in style than the 2019 release. All well-balanced by the sweet casks and the fragrant-butterscotchy spirit. Do I prefer tawny port casks to ruby port casks now?

Final Score: 87.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.