Glen Scotia Victoriana: Worthy of OSWA's best whisky of the year?

[@mikeymad]

Thanks for the review. I like your scoring. I use a 10 point scale that I developed with my whisky friend, and we actually have zeros and tens. But adding in the value and quality are good things. Cheers.

[@johnvandeswaluw2895]

A good and honest review, mate. Well done. Oh, new scoring system is heaps better! I like it 👍

[@thewhiskyloft]

Excellent! Thanks John. Appreciate the feedback, and I’m glad the new scoring system is better. As I say, I think it’s all a bit of a nonsense, but you do need some kind of measure.

[@sidberns1373]

Nice review - Totally agree, bought an early bottling after all the hype in the early days and didn't really connect with it, Found it rough and hot needed alot of water which didn't overly improve it that much - took me along time to get through the bottle.

[@johnzajac9849]

Excellent review. Just subscribed.

[@SaltyCuban]

I bought 2 based on the Oswas. I never regret a purchase unless the whisky is terrible. Very Rarely has that happened to me. That said I regret buying two bottles, mainly because I try to allocate my funds carefully as scotch has become so expensive. I just had the neck pour of the 2022 bottle. My other one is 2019. Unsweetened fruit, damp leaves, moss are things that I recall . I will continue to experiment with water and oxidation to give it my final notes. All in all I wouldn’t put it as a whisky of the year. It’s well made. It’s relatively fair priced and at cask strength. I simply don’t find it to be special to the point of buying multiple bottles. Thank you for your review.

[@thewhiskyloft]

It's tough at the moment. I'm foregoing some of my staples or bottles I want to replace because I know I would rather try something new.

[@SaltyCuban]

@@thewhiskyloft That’s always been somewhat of an issue for me. Repeat purchase ? Or never had bottle. There’s so many options. Now however with prices getting out of hand, I have made more repeat buys. Tamdhu 15, for ex. Craigellachie 13. Bunna 12. Before it was discontinued I also purchased four bottles of Bladnoch 10 yr. Should have bought more. Love that juice. After a while of experiencing a large variety of scotch you do start to get a picture of what you like. At some point I’ll prob. Be buying more repeats and a new one here and there.

[@DavidUKesb]

Ralfy and Roy Aquavite are by far the two most influential whisky reviewers/commentators and their channels are outstanding. However, given their influence, it's no surprise that nearly all the nominations for the OSWAs are whiskies that they have rated highly and/or talked about frequently. Many of their followers are quite simply that.....followers. One example is the way in which many distilleries which were ignored or even talked down ten years ago, are now lauded as among the best in Scotland because Ralfy and/or Roy have recently been praising their output. And yes, some of these distilleries have certainly improved their product, but nowhere near to the extent the followers would have you believe. Ten years ago virtually none of these followers would be talking about, let alone buying, Glen Scotia, Tobermory, Deanston, Speyburn, Loch Lomond etc.

[@thewhiskyloft]

It's a tricky one to balance. I've certainly been heavily influenced by their opinion down the years. If it wasn't for them, I very much doubt I would have started my own KZbin channel. But I agree that we should try and move away from whiskytube being an echo chamber, and discover great whisky for ourselves. Fortunately there is plenty of it out there and there are also plenty of other whiskytubers providing opinions on all sorts of different malts these days.

[@DavidUKesb]

@@thewhiskyloft Indeed, there's certainly an echo chamber. Here's another example....Ralfy hasn't reviewed a Kilchoman for years (eight years I believe) and as such, despite Kilchoman getting better with every year which passes, hardly anyone is talking about Kilchoman.

[@marclambert8596]

While I agree that there’s been an echo chamber effect and wish there were more diversity in the WhiskyVerse, I can’t begrudge their success or influence, and I actually disagree that “hardly anyone is talking about Kilchoman”. Perhaps your sample size is too small because I watch a wide range of channels and a search shows a decent number of them mentioning Kilchoman. I do agree that it’s not as many as the distillery warrants, but I for one am glad that Ralfy and Roy have NOT mentioned them too much!

[@terrortower666]

Tobermory never used to be recognised because their previous owners were uncaring towards their products, and produced quite bland stuff. Since they changed hands, Tobermory has now been corrected in the right direction and is producing brilliant stuff. Glen Scotia has also dramatically improved in the last 10 years, from my knowledge

[@jamesmorgan9695]

Roy will be happy you plugged the OSWA's, very nice presentation from you & I agree with your views. I've just been listening while checking out Whisky Broker & I'm contemplating getting a 9 yr Ardmore Oloroso cask matured 56.3% & I was wondering if you've tried anything from them?

[@thewhiskyloft]

I've not tired anything from them, so would be interested to see what you make of it. I looked up that bottle and it seems really interesting for the price. Thanks for your kind words about my video too!

[@maltontiger3144]

Nice video and thoughts. My experience with Victoriana is a bit mixed but like yourself it would not have been my choice in the OSWA's( I chose Ledaig 18) Like others have said, I like your scoring system! I look forward to more content. Cheers

[@thewhiskyloft]

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the videos, and like the scoring system. Ledaig 18 is a good bottle. I may have some opinions on it coming soon.

[@OMGhaggis]

Nothing like the very first batch of Victoriana... that was ambrosia - seriously! Subsequent batches have been very enjoyable but haven't held a candle to that batch 1. Curious as to how that newer bottling is, those haven't made it to my shores yet. I think it's the combo of some well aged spirit mixed with some younger PX and the deeply charred casks, of course also combined with the characterfulness of Glen Scotia that makes this one a winner. I voted for it, but that said, the others in the category were odd choices to me in that they're largely unobtainable to a lot of us. Victoriana I'm not able to get locally, but I've had a couple of them obtained in not-so far away but still far away enough lands. Great vid!

[@thewhiskyloft]

Thanks TJ. As you can see form the video, I've only popped the cork on the newer bottle and haven't been able to sample it yet. Maybe I'll do a comparison in the future.

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

Howdy, I'm new here. I love Victoriana, but I would've rather have seen it win this category last year. I think it's one of the very best Luxury Single Malts being bottled, and at a fraction of the price of say Glenmorangie Signet or something more boutique from say Compass Box. Being a value-based enthusiast, my WOTY this time around would've been Craigellachie 13, with Orchard House a close second. They're both very hard to beat values in 2023 ✌️

[@thewhiskyloft]

I also like a value dram, and with things being as they are in 2023, I will certainly be looking to review more of these going forward. I'm with you on Orchard House. Generally, anything Compass Box do pleases me.

[@fabiolafermi]

Victoriana is a great whisky, probably not the best, but certainly an affordable price for a good and old whisky of Campbeltown

[@thewhiskyloft]

I think that's largely my conclusion too. Agree it does what it does very well, though.

[@annamcmahan6993]

It's a good whisky but will not buy a second bottle because of the price. In that range or under there are things like Port Charlotte, Springbank, Laddie, or Bourbons like Eagle Rare or Rare Breed which are better (at least in my view).

[@1nToTh3V0id]

🎉