Review #857 - Glen Scotia Double Cask
In May 2026, we attended a tasting at our local specialty spirits retailer, Storied Company; this time, we were tasting a selection of single malts from Glen Scotia distillery. This Campbeltown distillery produces a wide range of whiskies, both age stated and NAS, and at a variety of strengths. For modern iterations of Glen Scotia, there's a strong focus on distillate character: they use a fermentation time of roughly 128 hours, far longer than the 50-ish hours required for a full conversion of sugar to alcohol in the whisky wash. That extra time is adds lots of estery notes, especially flavors like light fruits. We tried 6 whiskies on the night - this is 1 of those 6.
Glen Scotia actually has 2 versions of their Double Cask single malt: a rum cask finished version, and this Pedro Ximenez sherry finished version we're looking at today. There's no age statement on the bottle, but according to the leader of our tasting, this is composed mostly of whiskies between 4 years and 7 years old, with the average age sitting around 6 years.
Initial maturation is in ex-bourbon casks, but after that, a finishing period of roughly 12 months is spent in those PX sherry casks, which might add some nice sweet, fruity notes. Compared to the other 'entry level' Glen Scotia bottling, the 10 year version we just looked at (bottled at 40% ABV), this Double Cask whisky has a more enthusiast-focused bottling strength of 46% ABV.
Glen Scotia Double Cask
Scotland/Campbeltown - Single Malt
Price: USD 64 (2026)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon barrels, finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks
Details: Not chill filtered
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Very creamy - creme brulee, lemon curd, and also a softly funky side. Sweet vanilla mixes with a dank, musty scent; it's quite coastal, with mineral notes as well.
Palate: There's some spirity youth, a bit of sharpness, but we also get creamy notes and some guava. It's fizzy, and there are interesting dimensions like orange peel, more mineral notes, and a bit of sea brine.
Finish: Butterscotch and cantaloupe - nice sweetness balanced by salt, white pepper, and starchy oak. The mineral notes become very strong, and we get a lingering vanilla flavor in this finish.
Final Note: Before we found out which specific Double Cask bottling this was, we actually thought it was the rum cask version - there were such strong sweet, creamy notes on the nose. This single malt shows more of that Glen Scotia distillate with some mineral notes and a bit of salinity, which is quite nice, and we liked the light fruits in the palate as well. It isn't a particularly complex dram, but pleasant enough to drink overall.
Value here is a little above average. This is the same price as the Glen Scotia 10 Year in our market, but we think it's a noticeably nicer drinking experience, and we would recommend this bottle as your introduction to the brand.
Our Rating: 6.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.50
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Glen Scotia reviews:
Review #856 - Glen Scotia 10 Year
Review #777 - SMWS 93.193 'Salty Waterslide' - Glen Scotia 8 Year
Review #776 - SMWS 93.149 'Pleasingly Idiosyncratic' - Glen Scotia 8 Year
Review #732 - SMWS 93.122 'Baldrick's Cosmic Tardis' - Glen Scotia 10 Year
Review #569 - Glen Scotia 18 Year
Review #199 - SMWS 93.170 'Mermaid Karate' - Glen Scotia 9 Year
