Review #861 - Glen Scotia Victoriana (2024)

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 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's Victoriana release is intended to replicate the style of whisky that would have been produced in Victorian-era Scotland. While this single malt doesn't carry an age statement, it's composed of whisky components aged between 8 years and 20 years, and they use a variety of cask types.

The majority of maturation takes place in first fill and second fill ex-bourbon casks, but they finish and marry this whisky in both Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and heavily-recharred bourbon casks. This bottle we're looking at is specifically a 2024 release, bottled in the month of February.

Glen Scotia Victoriana (2024)

Scotland/Campbeltown - Single Malt

Price: USD 99 (2026)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 54.2% ABV

Cask Makeup: First and second fill ex-bourbon casks, Pedro Ximenez sherry butts, heavily charred ex-bourbon casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; bottled 2024

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Butterscotch juxtaposed by wood smoke, some creamy notes, a bit of cantaloupe and heavy cream. There's a funky side hiding beneath the sweetness, but we also get charcoal notes in addition to vanilla.

Palate: Sweet bright fruit: guava, even a bit of exotic passionfruit. Mineral notes and charcoal accent a malty backbone, and we find some spice from hot cinnamon. Orange fruit builds over time.

Finish: Smoky and industrial, with strong mineral notes and some salt water. Clove and nutmeg adding a strong baking spice component, and we get just a hint of bright guava in the background. It's a spicy and sweet finish.

Final Note: This is another whisky that shows off that Glen Scotia distillate quite well, but there are added layers of complexity from the variety of cask types used in the maturation process. Fruit comes from the bourbon casks and the PX influence, but we also get a nice smoky component from the recharred casks and the distillate, and there's a coastal element as well. This is a whisky that you can spend a lot of time digging into.

Like the prior edition of Victoriana that we reviewed, we think that value here is pretty good. While this is a NAS whisky, that doesn't tell nearly the whole story - there's a lot of complexity here, a lot to delve into with that higher strength. In our books, this whisky is a 'buy.'

Our Rating: 7.5 / 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: 6.49

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.