Watt Whisky Glasgow 5 Year Old Review

WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

Glasgow to Campbeltown and back again…

A Scot on Scotch reviews a 5 year old single cask single malt from the Glasgow Distillery, bottled by Watt Whisky.

*** It turns out this is actually a re-review. Somehow I made it all the way through the process without realising I had written about the same whisky back in 2023. Oh well, it could be interesting to see if I had a similar experience each time. I’ll put a link to the earlier review at the end of this one.

Watt Whisky are Kate and Mark Watt, independent bottlers of Scotch whiskies and other spirits. The husband and wife team are based in Campbeltown, the famous whisky capital of yesteryear.

Both Kate and Mark have extensive experience of the inner workings of the Scotch whisky industry thanks to time spent at the likes of Glenfarclas, Springbank, the Craigellachie Hotel, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and Cadenhead’s. Their impressive knowledge shines through in the quality of whisky they’ve been able to release since the launch of Watt Whisky, five years ago.

The duo have bottled spirit from a diverse range of Scottish distilleries like Loch Lomond, Dailuaine, Tormore, Cameronbridge, Caol Ila, Blair Athol, and Craigellachie to name but a few. In this review, however, my attention will be focused on something a wee bit closer to home.

Glasgow’s Whisky

When I’m not writing about whisky for A Scot on Scotch, I’m running whisky events in the city of Glasgow with Scottish Rogue. Back in April, we invited Glasgow Distillery along to our DRAM JAM whisky tasting event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their whisky.

As well as showcasing some great whiskies from the distillery’s official range, we wanted to include some independent bottlings of Glasgow’s single malt. The second I saw this Watt Whisky release online, I knew we had to include it.

For me, that’s an example of what makes a great independent bottler. Consumers find it easier to connect with distillery-produced whisky brands because they come to associate them with a particular style or flavour. Indie Bottlers are at a disadvantage in that regard. By their very nature, they produce something different with each release. The really good ones, however, become known for their consistency of quality. I knew straight away, without tasting the whisky*, that the bottle was going to be of a high standard because I trust that the Watt Whisky label would not have been put on it otherwise.

*Turns out I had tasted it previously.

Naturally, this single cask from the Watts went down a treat at the tasting and I made sure to squirrel away the dregs so that I could do a proper review…

Watt Whisky Glasgow 5 Year Old Review

The whisky is 5 years old and matured full term in an oloroso sherry butt. It’s bottled at 57.1%

Tasting notes: Nutty oloroso on the nose with raisins and ginger and a bit of struck match. Also charcoal, a nice meatiness and caramelised brown sugar. On the palate, there are sultanas, currants, charcoal and oak with high cocoa-content dark chocolate at the back. With water it softened beautifully and I got honey and golden syrup. The oak stays an ever present in the background but things don’t turn dry and woody until the finish.

Thoughts: Glasgow’s spirit carries highly active oak well. The sherry is dominating here – much more so than you’d normally expect to see from a Watt Whisky release – but it does so in such a pleasant way that you can’t possible view it as a negative. It’s a sherry bomb but it isn’t one-dimensional, there are layers to it that keep things interesting. Great spirit, produced at a great distillery, matured in a great cask and bottled by a great bottler. A winner in all regards.

Price: £70. Ideally you’d like to see a 5 year old malt coming in a bit cheaper but that’s where we are with casks from new distilleries like Glasgow. In fairness, I’ve tasted whiskies three times the age that wouldn’t compete with this for sheer flavour.

If you’d like to read my earlier review of the same whisky its’ available here.

For more about Watt Whisky visit here