Along with five other British webcaps, C. scoticus was selected by Kew Gardens as a highlight of taxa described by the organisation's staff and affiliates in 2020.

Cortinarius scoticus was described in a 2020 research note in the journal Fungal Diversity by Tuula Niskanen and Kare Liimatainen.

The description was based on a collection made by Niskanen in 2015 in the Black Wood of Rannoch, Perthshire, Scotland, and the species was named after the holotype's country of origin.

The species shares a number of identifying features with other members of the section, namely: the weak, iodoform-like, odour at the base of the stipe; the white and sparse universal veil; and small, brown fruiting bodies.

In a year-end round-up, Kew scientists selected ten highlights, one of which was six newly described British Cortinarius species: C. scoticus and C. aurae from the Black Wood of Rannoch; C. britannicus described from Caithness; C. subsaniosus from Cumbria; C. ainsworthii from Brighton; and C. heatherae from Heathrow Airport.

[2][3][4] In a press release, Kew identified Cortinarius species as "ecologically important in supporting the growth of plants, particularly trees such as oak, beech, birch and pine" and playing "a key role in the carbon cycling of woodlands and providing nitrogen to trees".

They are fairly dextrinoid, meaning that they stain reddish to reddish-brown when Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution is applied.