Campbeltown Malts Festival 2023 White Port Release | 57.4% ABV

glen scotia 11 year old white port finish campbeltown malts festival release 2023 — Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Available, affordable and very good. Bravo Glen Scotia*

On first impressions, you’ve got me

Time. It’s the most precious commodity, right? It is certainly precious to whisky makers. They can spend ten or twenty years waiting for something to come to fruition. Such is the time involved in this process, often the people selling the product have had nothing to do with its creation.

And yet time, as a drinker, is often not on our side. And frankly, with the abundance, wealth, sea, landscape and scope of whiskies available to all of us to try, time is never going to be on our side.

Should you have been fortunate enough to attend a recent whisky festival, which was it? How much time did you have? Some festivals are six or more hours long while some are barely three; I don’t really care how much time we have we won’t taste all of the whiskies on show and (as the Lakes Distillery can attest, when one attendee did attempt that and ended up wiping out their stand in the third hour of the first session) you really shouldn’t try. So you try as many as you feel you can within the bounds of your own habits, ability and taste.

Anything other than a bottle bought, opened and sampled over a period of time, is merely a glimpse into what a whisky has to offer. It’s very much like dating and can’t always rely upon first impressions. I wonder how many of us are with partners we felt were idiots when we first met them? We can’t easily break either our first impressions of people nor those formed from the briefest moments we have with a whisky when we first try it; be it in a bar, festival, tasting or from a shared hip-flask, that first minute where we dally with a drink can hold a strong grasp over our perception of a brand.

The idea that a truly formed tasting note can only be from someone having lived with a bottle for a considerable period of time is nonsense. Where would Whiskyfun.com be if that was the case? Possibly Whiskyisnolongerfun.com. We have to allow these brief glimpses to help guide us, because we don’t have the time to give every whisky the time it truly deserves.

Again back to the dating analogy; there must have been at least an initial spark for the conversation to have lasted long enough to enter into a relationship – assuming we’re not there for the free meals. In a way it should be the same for whisky. That isn’t to say that the impulse purchase doesn’t sometimes grow on you (and vice versa) but essentially the bottle bought from that little sip given to you by the kind person in the whisky shop or on the stand at a festival held enough sway to make you think ‘I can go for more of that.’

So, two reasons for the above ramble; firstly it is to remember that tasting notes are often only a little glimpse, a snapshot if you will, into the flavours and ‘feel’ of a whisky from someone’s point of view. If you’re reading this then you believe, as I do, that others can help guide you towards whisky you may like.

Secondly, I wrote the tasting note first and then the above to allow the whisky to sit in the glass for an extra however-long-it-took to write it; a period of ‘airing’, to allow me to go back and see if I agree with my notes, kind of like you might in a tasting or festival when you need a second opinion. Except this is the first, so far, whisky of 2024’s Burns’ Night.

Review 1/2 - Fletcher

Glen Scotia 11yo, Campbeltown Malts Festival 2023 Release, Lightly Peated White Port Cask Finish, 24,000 bottles, 57.4% ABV
£60 - 65 still some availability

In the time it’s taken me to write the above I can disagree with my own notes, to a certain extent. The White Port is certainly more pronounced than I gave it credit the first time around and the finish is not nearly as bitter (of course changing my notes now would defeat my own point).

campbeltown malts festival 2023 11 year old white port label bottle — Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Available, affordable and very good. Bravo Glen Scotia*

Nose

Straight into the glass the first nose and there is a ‘Porty’ element but not too strong. After just a few seconds the bready (shortbread) peatiness comes through. I’ve got shortbread stuck in my thoughts now and the hints of sugar, butter and vanilla are not helping me move on. Finally I can get to those raisiny – more fruitcake notes hanging around the sides. The higher than normal alcohol is not off-putting (no water used or anticipated so far). With a bit more time we are getting to a custard creaminess – think trifle without the cream and much of the fruit.

Palate

Softly sweet at first but you can feel this is revving up. The peat, so much more pronounced on the palate than the nose (often the case), is spiky, not soft, and certainly more mainland than island – in other words we are not dealing with those seaside flavours as much as we are burnt heather, bonfire and earthiness. I’m not getting as much of the biscuit, vanilla and creaminess on the palate as the nose suggests. It is certainly a touch sharper on the palate than the nose was promising and definitely less developed. Where has the white Port influence gone? With water it softens and there is a touch more of that Campbeltown funk at play (which is pleasing) but still not quite there from what the nose promised.

I tried so hard not to re-write this last bit, but the aftertaste is a touch too bitter for me without anything else vying for attention.

The Dregs

Approximately 5 or 10 minutes into this £65 whisky purchased at the most excellent Robbie’s Drams, (not sponsored) I’m going to give it a 6/10. 6.5 if allowed. No, after reading our scoring guide, it’s a 7/10;

7/10. Very Good Indeed.
This isn’t the 0-100 scale, so this isn’t the new average. This is well above average.
This has given us real pleasure and is considered very worthy of your time.

Bravo to Glen Scotia who continually offer great and affordable drams and until buildings go up, give all whisky visitors in Campbeltown a reason to actually walk past the Loch. The price is not bad at all as more and more festival bottlings become more about being a cash cow and fleecing attendees than about buying something to drink.

And bravo too that I did not have to attend the festival, which is out of reach for so many - not just geographically - to get a bottle. This, as per previous releases, is clearly not for flippers and that fills my heart with joy.

It will not be to everyone’s tastes which I think is reflected in the score but there will be many that will adore this bottling.

I’ll hand you over to my Dramface peer, Drummond, for his take.

Score: 7/10

Review 2/2 - Drummond

Glen Scotia 11yo, Campbeltown Malts Festival 2023 Release, Lightly Peated White Port Cask Finish, 24,000 bottles, 57.4% ABV
£60 - 65 still some availability

Being about five years into whisky now, as with any hobby, I recognise that there are some inevitable drawbacks to being a relative newbie.

I realise that my palate doesn’t have the extensive history as others who have been in the game longer than me and my back catalogue doesn’t have nearly as many pages. I can’t flip back to recall what older batches of Glen Whatnot were like.

It’s inevitable, of course, and I’m trying my darndest to fill out more and more pages as my journey continues. But, my palate library is extensive enough that I’ve long since reached beyond the point of buying bottles just for the sake of buying bottles or buying random malts just to see what they’re like. I’d like to think I have a pretty good sense of the current lay of the land and I’m therefore much more focused and pickier nowadays, homing in on those malts with heavy textures, distinct character, and maybe more challenging flavours.

But I also recognise some distinct upsides of not yet having a long personal history with whisky.

For example, I don’t long for the days of How Things Used To Be, simply because I don’t know what those days were like. I don’t want to downplay the concerns of those who were around then, as I can certainly understand the frustration of seeing things change over time, and not always for the better. Although, at the same, we are also in something of a Golden Age.

I never tasted the old (and by all accounts better) Ardbeg Uigeadail. I never found any old affordable Clynelish. I never saw Springbank 12 Cask Strengths sitting on the shelves for periods of time longer than five nanoseconds. I wasn’t on the scene when A'bunadh was the sought after sherry bomb of the day, and I’ve never felt any FOMO need to try it simply because there have always been lots of great sherry bombs around since I’ve been into whisky. And, I wasn’t around when most festival bottlings were affordable.

Today we’re in Campbeltown, not Islay, but let’s make a quick side trip to have a look at the annual Fèis Ìle special releases for 2023:

Lagavulin, 14 years old finished in Armagnac casks, 58.4%, £220
Caol Ila, 13 years old, PX and Oloroso finish, £185
Kilchoman, 11 years old, small batch of Oloroso and bourbon casks, 55.3%, £120
Bowmore, 18 years old, Oloroso and PX casks, £200
Laphroaig, NAS Cairdeas, Madeira and white port casks, 52.3%, £89
Bruichladdich, 15 years old, bourbon and Sauternes casks, 50%, £135
Bunnahabhain, Canasta casks, 51.2%, £95 (plus a 17 year old for £225)

You’ll see where I’m going. These are indeed “special” releases in the sense that they are distinct, different, and unique in relation to each distillery’s usual core range. Unique or rare casks are expensive, and there’s nothing wrong with businesses making money. And to answer my own dumb question with a dumb answer; the purpose from the owners’ perspective is of course to make as big a pile of money as possible.

Some of these festival bottles are more out of reach than others, with one particular corporate owner putting up the highest barriers, in my humble opinion. You’ll encounter similar findings up at the Spirit of Speyside Festival.

But this raises the question of; what are festival releases for? At £220 are many people drinking that Lagavulin? I suppose there are many who are, but I also wonder what so many of us wonder these days about how many are currently sitting on shelves gathering dust never to be opened, but instead to occupy a designated spot in a collection. A beautiful but dusty, unexplored, untasted, and un-enjoyed line of Lagavulins (or Kilchomans or Bowmores or Laphroaigs). As I find myself asking about so many things these days as I stumble and grumble my way into middle-age; what’s the point of it all?

The Campbeltown Malts Festival doesn’t get quite as much attention as Fèis Ìle – with only three distilleries as opposed to nine – but Campbeltown is of course the Whisky Mecca for so many these days. Including yours truly. Which is why it’s worth spotlighting this Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival bottle from 2023.

At £65 and cask strength, ticking all of the integrity boxes, age statement, unique cask profile (lightly peated with a 12 month white port finish) all the while being affordable. I really don’t see the point of a £185 13 year old Caol Ila – and I love Caol Ila. Or a £95 NAS Bunnahabhain, and I love Bunna even more. Glen Scotia, therefore, deserves praise for offering us enthusiasts something a bit different and interesting that doesn’t break the bank.

Whether or not you enjoyed this release or not, when it comes to the topic of festival special releases – and the whole wider topic of the increasingly cynical use of “limited edition” and “special release” throughout the industry – folks in Campbeltown – as ever – are doing things to be celebrated and emulated.

It’s worth noting that I purchased my bottle as soon as it was released and opened it that same day, so it’s now had several months to open up, and it’s only gotten better.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*An interesting, delicious, and great value-for-money festival release*

Nose

Does what it says on the tin: light peat and light port. Doesn’t nose quite like its 54.7% strength; feels closer to 48%. Lightly sweet but with a boiled/stewed fruit quality, reminiscent of apple crumble. The port influence feels somewhat velvety on the nose, and is well-balanced against the lightly peated spirit, which smells drying. Ever-so-subtle hint of the Glen Scotia coastal minerality in the background.

Palate

Silky and smoky. The port influence becomes more prominent on the palate, but the peat also remains in the front seat alongside. Oak. The boiled fruits and port become more integrated on the palate, and the light smokiness weaves through the proceedings as a common thread without taking over. I’m also getting hints of the fudge quality that I get on the Double Cask (but which is less prominent on the 15 year old). This is part and parcel of the creaminess of the port influence, and makes for a wonderfully composed palate with all of these factors taking centre stage but without any one stealing the show. Sweet, slightly smoky, creamy, boiled fruits, mineralic – a great palate.

The Dregs

This is a very enjoyable permutation of Glen Scotia which I’m very happy I could afford to try. While I don’t know what the point of a £220 14 year old Lagavulin is, it’s abundantly clear what Glen Scotia and owners Loch Lomond Group intended with this: a unique dram, with integrity boxes ticked, for drinking, exploring, and enjoying.

It offers a wonderfully different take on the distillate so many of us have come to love and which has come to embody Campbeltown just as much as Those Other Two Distilleries a few blocks away. As a festival release of 24,000 bottles at £65; the clear message being sent is that this was made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.

A huge kudos – and sincere thank you – to everyone involved in bringing us this great dram at this price point. With the discussion in 2024 now so firmly focused on value for money, and with so many companies pricing in such blatantly cynical ways, and with so many of us now tired of it, I’ll be watching it all from my wee desk here at Dramface HQ, with a dram of this Glen Scotia Festival release in hand, biding my time and only carefully parting with my hard-earned dough when something is truly worth it, all the while looking forward to what this distillery and the wider Loch Lomond Group offer us this year.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. FF / DD

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