Campbeltown single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in the burgh of Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. Once a major producer of whisky with as many as 30 distilleries, and claiming the title "whisky capital of the world", its production has markedly declined. Most of the distilleries have gone out of business and little trace of them remains. The reason for this decline was that the town was "churning out whisky in volume ... with little concern for quality", according to a 2018 book that covers the entire industry and its history. [1]
By 2010 only three distilleries continued to produce whisky in Campbeltown: Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia. [2] The Springbank distillery produces three distinct whiskies; Springbank, Hazelburn, and Longrow. Glengyle distillery has only recently been revived by J & A Mitchell and Co Ltd., who own and operate the Springbank distillery, and its whisky is sold under the name Kilkerran to avoid confusion with the Highland blended malt named Glengyle. By 2016, Kilkerran had started bottling and selling a 12-year-old spirit, to go along with their previously released No-Age-Statement offerings.
In recent years, there is a growing interest in reviving Campbeltown's historic single malt whisky industry, with two new distilleries currently under construction [3] [4]
A 2019 review indicated that the whisky produced here offers notes of "dried fruit, vanilla, toffee, and brine within a dry and pungent body". The Visit Scotland web site is more specific, defining Springbank malts as "robust and smoky with hints of their maritime roots", [5] the Glen Scotia single malts as "lighter with grassy notes" [6] and Glengyle's Kilkerran whisky as "lighter and sweeter, but with the distinctive oily and salty notes". [7]
Campbeltown is a "protected locality" for Scotch Whisky distilling under UK Government legislation. [8]
Scotch whisky is malt whisky or grain whisky, made in Scotland.
Arran distillery is a whisky distillery in Lochranza, Scotland, Isle of Arran.
Campbeltown is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.
Lagavulin distillery is a malt whisky distillery in the village of Lagavulin on the south of the island of Islay, Scotland. It distills spirit that will become Islay single malt Scotch whisky.
Port Ellen distillery is located in Port Ellen on the isle of Islay, Scotland. It initially operated between 1825 and 1983 when production shut down.
Springbank distillery is a family-owned single malt whisky distillery on the Kintyre Peninsula in western Scotland.
Dalwhinnie distillery, situated in the Highland village of Dalwhinnie in Scotland, produces single malt Scotch whisky. Whilst labelled as Highland, as the Dalwhinnie distillery is located in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland Council, it is in the Speyside region - noting that under SWA regulations the full Speyside region falls within the boundaries of the Highlands and so can be labelled as such. The distillery owned by Diageo.
Welsh whisky is a whisky made in Wales. Whisky has been distilled in Wales since the Middle Ages, but production died out in the late nineteenth century. In the 1990s attempts were made to revive the practice, resulting in the establishment of Wales's first distillery in over one hundred years.
Hazelburn distillery was a distillery in Campbeltown, Scotland, which was in operation between approximately 1825 and 1925.
Benromach distillery is a Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by Gordon and Macphail of Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Morayshire and is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside Forres.
Lochside distillery was a distillery in Montrose, Angus that produced single malt scotch whisky and grain whisky. The distillery was owned by Macnab Distilleries Ltd. and latterly, by Allied Distillers, a subsidiary of the former British drinks and restaurant group Allied Domecq.
North Port distillery was a distillery in Brechin, Angus that produced single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery was latterly owned by Distillers Company through its subsidiary Mitchell Brothers.
Glen Scotia distillery or sometimes affectionately known as The Scotia or Old Scotia is a distillery that is a producer of single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery was founded in 1832 and is one of just three distilleries left in Campbeltown, the smallest whisky region.
Bunnahabhain distillery was founded in 1881 near Port Askaig on Islay. The village of Bunnahabhain was founded to house its workers.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky: