Campbeltown

Where it started

Glen Scotia, which traces its distillery to 1832, tells the town's story in a sentence: there was a time when whisky coursed through its streets, with a distillery on every corner and ships lining the harbour to carry Campbeltown's spirit around the world.³ Today Glen Scotia is one of only three remaining distilleries in the town.³ The region kept its legal identity: in 2009 "Campbeltown," comprising the South Kintyre ward of Argyll and Bute Council, was written into the Scotch Whisky Regulations as a protected locality.²

Where and how it's made

Campbeltown single malts follow the standard rules: one distillery, only water and malted barley, pot stills, and at least three years in oak casks in Scotland.⁴ The SWA hears salt, smoke, fruit, vanilla and toffee in the region's malts, so expect both peated and unpeated spirit.¹

Campbeltown sits inside the Highland region, so its distillers may use either name.⁵

How to taste it

Give it time in the glass; Campbeltown malts can smell closed at first and open into fruit. Tulip glass, a drop of water. Look for the texture, which is heavier than Speyside, and the salt on the finish. Pairings: smoked mackerel, a sharp cheddar, salted caramel.

Styles and what the label means

• Lightly peated Campbeltown — the classic: salt, oil, soft smoke.
• Heavily peated Campbeltown — a few releases push the smoke toward Islay levels. peated-whisky →
• Unpeated Campbeltown — fruit and brine without smoke.
• Sherry-matured Campbeltown — dried fruit over the maritime base. cask-finishes →
• Campbeltown blended malt — vattings of the town's distilleries. single-malt-vs-blended →