New Core Range Official Release | 46% ABV

Reading the Room

We’re not often timely here at Dramface. Our writers share exactly what they like, when they like - usually due to thoughts inspired or reactions provoked.

We don’t yet have a full catalogue, but we’re close. Sometimes we’re surprised when we don’t have something covered. I suppose the mantra when it comes to official bottles is that, if it’s worth it, it’ll eventually get written about.

However, on some occasions, some official bottles are particularly anticipated and are likely to get words thrown at them straight away. The bottle today is one of those.

In fact, despite the fact this not a ‘special’, nor a ‘limited’ and certainly not an ‘exclusive’, it’s been wildly looked forward to by us. Despite this also being a very large-scale outturn, a number of the Dramface team jumped to buy this on the day of launch. I’m one of them.

But I suppose the biggest measure of how keen we are to get our grubbies on this glass, is the fact I’m writing this preamble before the bottle has even been delivered. This is a first. I’m tempting fate - it’ll probably turn up smashed.

I’m not all wide-eyed in isolation, in the writer’s chat they’re sharing their expected delivery slots and door-watching. We’re offering our individual thoughts on who the best carriers are. This is not typical. One of us has even resorted to day-drinking; his bottle is popped and poured as soon as it’s past the threshold. So far he’s keeping shtum - as is the way around here - but his pictures are shared. I won’t know what he does until tonight. I love this.

So why start writing now? Well, of course the experience could completely change what I may write here but I want to catch this moment - this excited anticipation - it’s not so common these days for jaded ol’ whisky journeyfolks; certainly not for flagship official bottles. So let’s try to work out why.

Like the Loch Lomond distillery, its Group sibling in the Southern Highlands, Glen Scotia is one of those distilleries enjoying something of a growing reputation. The ship has been steadied and it seems like we’re moving away from the old days of fantastic peaks and bewildering troughs. Today we sense something more like canny investment in consistently good spirit - for the longer term. However, despite this altogether healthier strategy it feels like the end product, thus far, has remained a little ‘patchy’ to say the least, despite general favour from my Dramface peers.

Most recently we’ve enjoyed they’re 15yo, the Victoriana and the decent value Double Cask releases. Another highlight is often their Campbeltown Malts Festival specials. But there have also been fewer interesting efforts in the shape of the 10 year old and the Campbeltown Harbour. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that there are only one or two of that list that are naturally un-chill filtered with no added colour: the Rum Cask version of the Double Cask (joined by a very recent Bordeaux finished example) and the Victoriana. Yet, there remains a sense that things are changing. Slowly, steadily, for the better. We feel it.

In terms of our Dramface coverage, we’ve shared twenty-four reviews over eighteen expressions of Glen Scotia so far; not including an imminent work-in-progress 2025 CMF release and today’s 12yo. Seventeen of those are official bottlings and a single indie from SMWS. There have been one or two others such as the Glen Toons from Decadent Drinks and some ‘undisclosed Campbeltowns’ - which are clearly Scotias - also scoring well. Overall, it’s a very respectable showing.

Yet there’s also a feeling from some of us that we remain in something of a holding pattern. You see, we’ve been to the distillery, we’ve tried the single casks, the airport exclusives and the sneak peek bottlings, but we’re still on the lookout for an official release that’ll allow Scotia to stand tall alongside its Wee Toon neighbours and present an unadulterated, expressive flagship that announces its arrival once more; the moment when its confidence in itself - and belief in all of that investment - is on display. We’ve been waiting.

To illustrate further, let me share an anecdote that I know I‘ve shared before - but it’s worth the repeat. In 2022, a flurry of the original Dramface founding crew descended upon Campbeltown and had the pleasure of being hosted at Glen Scotia by the dapper Iain McAlister. After a terrific look under the production hood and a glug of new make, we had a wee session in the warehouse and very lovely it was too. But before Iain scurried off to do more important things, he offered us a final dram ‘for the road’. He asked what we’d like to try and, despite a few of us being brash enough to suggest he cracks a few of the more ancient casks, decorum won out and we asked for ‘dealer’s choice’.

Iain smiled and wandered over to a 6 year old first-fill bourbon. How cheap can you get, right?

Yet that humble wee barrel silenced us in the most profound of ways. Everyone remembers that dram so fondly that if it were available to buy - that or anything like it - it’s what we’d all have taken home. It was an absolute beauty. We took it as a harbinger of what was maybe still just a little out-of-reach; something to give us a glimpse of what was silently waiting for everyone who cared about the renaissance of Campbeltown’s distillery up the hill.

In the three years since that glass in the warehouse, that cask has fallen into the stuff of lore amongst the Dramface team who were there, and it’s just one of many reasons why this brand new 12 year old today - all from bourbon - is so anticipated. But, I’d like to share what I think the bigger reason is.

You see, I think they’ve read the room… perfectly.

Yes, it still remains to be seen if the whisky that arrives this evening is as good as we might hope, but the truth is, the recipe looks legit - they’re already halfway there.

We have an experienced and capable team working alongside Iain to make the stuff. For years we’ve enjoyed the nurture and creativity of Master Blender Michael Henry, which has now been bolstered by Ashley Smith leading the charge at Glen Scotia. The team is in place. Now, did they get a product over the line that will get the chatter flowing from exciters? Yet still be approachable enough for the casual greater market?

I have to say, this should be a bare minimum for single malt Scotch whisky these days, after all the hard work has been done making and maturing, the last part should be dead easy: keep it natural, don’t add what isn’t needed, don’t take away what you don’t have to.

In these days of reduced consumption being both a symptom and a goal, less is more, and better is better. Let’s see…

It’s a good start.

A nice mature age statement is in place, it’s not strictly necessary (I refer you to the 6yo anecdote above) but we’re grateful for it. A 46% ABV suggests they could be putting this out un-chill filtered and natural colour and - true enough - on the bottle’s back label (I can only confirm this thanks to Ramsay - it’s not mentioned on the website) it states it as so. It also adds natural colour too. The website does mention this, but somehow doesn’t share the filtration status. This, allied to these important details printed only on the back label, comes across as a little bashful. Maybe it’s just me, but are these statements something to be a little coy about? I feel they should be shouting about this with confidence. Still, we’ll take it. Job done.

We have a fully natural flagship Glen Scotia. I know I’m a helpless geek, but this is ridiculously exciting.

So, how about the price?

£45. Hallelujah. They received the memo, they understood the mission, every box was ticked, they read the room. Only one thing left to complete the challenge - which we’ll only discover in a long, drawn-out conversation with the liquid itself.

However, as we wait for our bottles to land, they’ve taken our excited anticipation and - instead of dousing it in sour disappointment like so many releases from elsewhere, still, in 2025 - Loch Lomond Group have supercharged it. This is a very fair price for these specs. This is an earnest exercise in playing the Scotch malt whisky game right. Earnestly grinding it out. The long game.

So that final box remains; it only needs to taste good. I’m closing the laptop and heading to the window to watch for the red and white DPD van to arrive. This, for an official distillery bottling. Nuts.

Review 1/3 - Wally

Glen Scotia 12yo, official bottling, “Tropical fruit & coastal spray”, 2025 release, first-fill bourbon maturation, 46% ABV
£45 and wide availability, purchased direct from Glen Scotia website

The DPD guy knows me well by now. He always has a smile, but there’s a lick of concern in his face. Every delivery is whisky shaped and I think he’s considering when the right time for intervention may be.

Little does he know that too many bottles that arrive by his hands don’t live up to expectation and, rather than be greedily guzzled, they’re left to languish for far too long. Another bang-average, forget-it-that’ll-do malt release that’s been diluted and designed by committee, half of whom will never even taste it. However, I’m very happy to share that this Glen Scotia 12 year old is not one of them.

It arrived later in the day than I’d have hoped, so no photos were taken. I did however open it and taste it, almost as fast as our Ramsay. The first glass was a joy. As was the second. Later that night I realised the bottle was over the shoulder already and that I was dealing with Danger Whisky. Very, very drinkable.

I bought a second. I’ll strike up a chat with Mr DPD and find a way to reassure him.

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*Bullseye*

Nose

Fresh, juicy and zesty with a light oak spice. Sweet lychees and ripe satsumas with some orange zest and pink stone fruits. There’s lilies and light honey too, and finding that salty side is as easy as taking a pier-side walk. With water, the minerals appear alongside the sweet fruits and a little butterscotch too.

Palate

Thick arrival. It’s wonderfully oily, given its ABV. I resolve to attempt to get pictures of the thick legs as they tumble down the walls of the copita in slow-mo. A first-fill bourbon character is prevalent and it delivers all those sweet vanilla honey, toffee and fruit notes from the nose very well. But it’s not sickly. We have tinned nectarines and mandarin segments, all in syrup, a little honey-roasted peanut along with salted caramel, it’s oily, chewy and juicy. It’s crowd-pleasing perfection.

Adding a dot of water is to be recommended if that’s your thing; it brightens the coastal nature and seems to add a little detail. But honestly, I bet you’re all going to be happy just setting about this neat.

The finish is rudely long for a 12 year old malt. First-fill barrels have their superpowers, I guess. Perhaps, in future we could see some refill in the mix here? While that might dilute the weighty impact and tropicality, it might add detail? Anyway, that might just be my old malt-head romanticism.

The Dregs

This is an excellent official bottle of whisky. In seeking the target for a flagship, core release, they’ve hit the bullseye.

It brings Glen Scotia up alongside the other popular, easy and affordable, official twelve year olds we all love to recommend; the Bunnahabhains, the Deanstons and the GlenAllachies. I’ll go further, if ex-bourbon is your thing, I think it beats them. For me, it also beats Craigellachie’s 13yo and the all-conquering, crowd pleaser that is Arran 10. Now that’s fighting talk.

I’ll temper my hyperbole a little; don’t be expecting super-detailed complexity or Springbank-level density, it’s still Glen Scotia at twelve years old and it’s very first-fill bourbon in style. In the fight between spirit and oak, the first-fill bourbon has the upper hand here. Oak-sensitive types be warned.

Some may find things leaning too heavily on that sweet cask character and oily, thick texture, but for me, I’m okay with American oak fruit and sweetness, and besides, with the salty minerals - there’s more to it.

It is ridiculously quaffable and easy, and still capable of making any lover of malt purr with contentment. That something of this quality can be picked up for the 2025 sweet-spot price of £45 is to be celebrated. I think it really is a special arrival, hence my score.

It’s very encouraging that a company with the scale and output of Loch Lomond Group could have got this recipe so right. Things are challenging in 2025 and product development efforts today will need to be focused on finding a balance between the best quality and fair value; a package that can attract new explorers while harnessing the support of the vocal and still very vibrant, active enthusiast community. I think this will do that nicely.

As the photos might betray, in the week or so since this bottle’s arrival, I’ve managed to get through close to half. Leave the judgement for the DPD guy; I’ve shared it a lot. As I admitted already, it’s dangerously drinkable. I’m headed to a birthday barbecue this evening and I’ll take what’s left and leave it for other whisky pals to enjoy.

I’ll let you all decide whether or not the level of suspense involved here affected the appraisal from me or my peers, but we share it faithfully. We all bought our own whiskies and we all share our individual takes with the bottles upon arrival.

But from me; a huge congratulations to Glen Scotia for reading the room with this one.

Score: 8/10 WMc

Review 2/3 - Charlie

Glen Scotia 12yo, official bottling, “Tropical fruit & coastal spray”, 2025 release, first-fill bourbon maturation, 46% ABV
£45 and wide availability, purchased direct from Glen Scotia website

When this bottle first popped up on social media, teasing an imminent release, it seemed like an instant “shut up and take my money” moment.

A Campbeltown dram, bourbon cask matured, no added colour, no chill filtration, and a proper age statement? Even for someone like me who has yet to be won over entirely by Glen Scotia, that’s too strong a story. I have swung very firmly back towards a bourbon cask preference, so this instantly had me wanting to try some.

Then came the whisper on WhatsApp —£45. Forty-five. For all that pedigree? That’s not just good, that’s borderline suspicious.

Naturally, I didn’t hesitate. Clicked and ordered on release the next day, and by the following evening it was in my paws.

And the colour—well, that’s the first thing that hits you. Deep, rich, and totally unexpected from bourbon casks. It’s the kind of hue that makes you double-check the label, just to confirm it really hasn’t been tampered with.

A visual promise of something serious inside?

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Excellent for the price; I may be converted*

Nose

There’s a whisper of flat cola on the nose to start - soft and sweet. But the bourbon cask influence quickly steps in with more authority: warm vanilla, toasted oak, and that familiar coastal salinity; in no way overpowering. There is a bit of spice, like a Christmas cake, but not too much. It is an overused term for spirit from the Wee Toon, but there is a bit of funk at the back which I eventually landed on as being a hint of blue cheese; strange, but it is pleasant.

Palate

It seemed rich and caramelly, at first. I wasn’t convinced that my brain was just importing that from the colour, but I decided it was not, and the more I had, the more I got it. It has a bit of bourbon taste and a fair bit of nuanced spice, pepper and sticky toffee pudding. There is tropical fruit and a bit of citrus, but they aren’t the dominant tastes at all.

It finishes medium with some burnt caramel hues. It invites you to sip more.

The Dregs

My first sip - what the faithful call the neck pour - wasn’t exactly a spiritual awakening. I was braced for brilliance, maybe even craving it. But what I got was... meh. Muted. It just wasn’t working for me. So I did the sensible thing: let it breathe, let it shake off the jet lag of bottle shock, and gave it another go a couple of nights later. That’s when it clicked.

The flavours had found their groove. Complexity stepped forward, interest bloomed, and the whole thing just started to sing. It is actually quite moreish and as a couch sipper you could go through it faster than you think.

Now, I’ve never quite vibed with the Glen Scotia’s 15yo. And the 21-year-old “Disco Cow”? My thoughts on that glittery beast are already etched into these pages. But this one? For me it trounces them both. No contest. And when you factor in the price - well, it’s not just good value, it’s borderline taunting.

I’m hoping this marks a new chapter in my Glen Scotia story. I’ve got a feeling this could become a permashelf bottle.

Score: 7/10 CC

Review 3/3 - Ramsay

Glen Scotia 12yo, official bottling, “Tropical fruit & coastal spray”, 2025 release, first-fill bourbon maturation, 46% ABV
£45 and wide availability, purchased direct from Glen Scotia website

When I first saw this release was coming a couple of weeks ago I was delighted that Glen Scotia had finally added a product of this age to its core range at 46% ABV.

There was a ten year old released a couple of years ago at 40%, but it appeared to be a step backwards. Discovering this twelve year old was going to be 100% first-fill ex-bourbon casks and that they have also resisted the urge to add artificial colour only heightened my excitement further. It’s a perfect stepping point between the non-age statement Double Cask and the fifteen year old - which I often thought was needed. With a price point at £45 they have positioned it competitively amongst its peers too.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the box is how dark it is for a bourbon cask whisky that hasn’t had any artificial colour added. The casks were clearly pretty active. The next thing I noticed was the label clearly stating that it was non-chill filtered and natural colour. Bravo Glen Scotia.

Score: 5/10

**Average. In a good way.**
***TL;DR***
*The tropical fruits are there, but it’s a little overcooked*

Nose

Very fruity. The tropical fruits promised on the label are like a concentrated Um Bongo (a once popular tropical fruit drink) and they’re coated in salted caramel and vanilla. It’s slightly floral too, with sawdust and wood varnish.

Palate

It’s not a subtle dram and there’s a big whack of flavour up front with those tropical fruit notes, but it’s mostly juicy orange coming through. The fruit remains as it develops, but there’s also lots of peppery spice and oak on top of it. The oak is rather drying and bitter and keeps going into the finish, where there’s coffee, liquorice, caramel and vanilla.

The Dregs

I wanted to love this whisky so much and for it to become a permanent fixture on my shelf.

There’s certainly nothing bad about it, but unfortunately the palate is a bit of a let-down for me and my flavour preferences. I won’t have any problems getting through the bottle, but I much prefer a more spirit-forward, ex-bourbon cask experience and this is not that.

Twelve years in active first-fill casks was perhaps a little too much and a greater use of refill casks could well have brought a much better balance between the spirit and the oak, which I feel is a little overcooked. Anybody who has read some of my pieces before will know I’m not a big fan when oak becomes more than a background flavour in the whisky and I’m quite sensitive to it. It’s why I don’t tend to get on with bourbon or many virgin oak scotch whiskies. If those things are in your wheelhouse, then this could absolutely work for you.

I have a five year old Glen Scotia on the shelf from a first-fill cask which they released as part of their Unlocked range. It’s much paler, which you’d expect from seven fewer years in cask, but not all first-fill casks are the same and I suspect it was also a less active cask. It’s brighter and fresher and that maritime and fruity spirit is allowed to shine. That’s more what I am looking for from my Glen Scotia.

This may well vary from batch to batch and I will keep an eye out in the hope the cask influence is dialled back a bit in future.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. WMc

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