At Honest to a Malt we are both fans of Glen Scotia and we've tried most of the festival editions released since the 2018, and they have varied from no peat, lightly peated, through to heavily peated. The previous editions cask finishes were: 2018 Ruby Port, 2019 Rum, 2020 Tawny Port, 2021 Bordeaux and 2022 Pedro Ximénez. The Glen Scotia Festival Edition 2023 is a white port finish, which is very rare to see!
The 2024 Glen Scotia Campbeltown Festival 9 Year Old Fino is still available at time of updating this article for £65, but the 2023 is now only available at auction.
White port, the fortified wine, should in theory should impart green apples, pears, apricots, peaches, toffee, caramel, orange, honey and lemon into the whisky through the cask. White Port is a white fortified wine from the Douro region of Portugal.
Review of the Glen Scotia: Campbeltown Festival Edition 2023 White Port Finish 11 Year Old 54.7% ABV
Mike's Tasting Notes
Nose: Smoked blackcurrant cheesecake, lemon, caramel, grape soda
Palate: Industrial smoke, maple syrup, lemon juice, a real effervescence, ginger heat, almonds, blackcurrant and licorice sweets.
Finish: Smoke throughout, ginger, lemon, honey, then blackcurrant all the way to the end.
Duncan's Tasting Notes
Nose: Coastal, with peaches, lemon and freshly cut grass.
Palate: Sweet, salty and gently smokey. Caramel, a little wood (balances out some of the sweetness) and spice, some brown sugar, apricots, more peach and ripe figs.
Finish: Salinity, wood and spice dominate the finish, which dries, as the fruit in the palate takes a back seat. A little smoke continues through to the end.
This whisky was also shared at a summer BBQ for guests who are whisky fans, and some that aren't. Generally, everyone loved it, talking about the gentle smokiness and fruit forwards dram. It's an easy one to sip with friends, or to explore further.
It's available widely at current and will gradually sell out, due to the large number of bottles in each yearly run. At £65 RRP, we recommend it as a buy if you are looking for a new bottle and like fruity, smokey, coastal whisky.
We are really fans of these festival releases and see them as really good value for limited run whisky, which always knocks it out of the park. If you like Campbeltown whiskies with lot's of coastal salinity, and fruitiness, then as long as you check out the peat level on the edition, you will be very happy.
Sounds absolutely stunning! Was gutted to have missed out on getting a bottle of the 2020 Tawny Port and the following years haven't hit the same heights for me.. this however... could be a contender! - Jeff Whisky!