Campbeltown Loch

Most will know the famous Andy Stewart song from the 60's Campbeltown Loch, some will know of J&A Mitchell's releases under this name.

This time we're trying this year's release a blend of whiskies from all 3 current Campbeltown distilleries, featuring the three Springbank malts, Glengyle and Glen Scotia.

J&A Mitchell's earlier bottlings under this name include 4, 5, 15, 21, 25 and 30 year old blends featuring Springbank and Girvan grain. This is the first Blended Malt and the first including Springbank, Longrow, Hazelburn, Glengyle and Glen Scotia malts.

Let's have a quick look at each in turn:

Springbank: We’ve been distilling Springbank since 1828. With a character all of its own, thanks to the use of lightly peated barley and a unique two-and-a-half-times distillation process, it is a complex, full bodied maritime dram. Today, our flagship whisky is available in bottlings of 10, 12, 15, 18 and 21-year-olds, with each having slightly different palates and finishes.

Longrow: First distilled in 1973, Longrow is the result of an experiment carried out by our chairman, who set out to prove that an Islay style single malt could be produced on the mainland. Today, our heavily peated, wonderfully smoky whisky is available in three bottlings – Peated, Red and 18yo.

Hazelburn: Having first been distilled in 1997, Hazelburn is the newest whisky to be produced here. By using malt that is air dried only and distilling the whisky three times in our old copper stills, we achieve a spirit that is light, fruity and subtle. Like Longrow, Hazelburn is named after one of the distilleries of Campbeltown’s past. It is available in 10 and 12yo expressions.

Glengyle (Kilkerran): We use barley malted in traditional floor maltings at the neighbouring distillery, Springbank, in our own semi lauter mash tun, 4 boatskin larch washbacks and ex Ben Wyvis copper stills. Our first casks were laid down in 2004, lightly peated and heavily peated spirit is matured in a variety of casks.

Glen Scotia: Glen Scotia is one of the smallest Scotch whisky distilleries in Scotland but one of the big names of Campbeltown. Our lovely distillery still maintains much of its original design, including the mashtun, the stillroom and the dunnage warehouse dating from the 1830s. A mixture of unpeated and peated barley is used.

So let's see what this is like:

Distillery notes:

"An unmistakable Campbeltown dram; Initially sweet with soft notes of fruit, honey & butterscotch that give way to more complexity. 

Maritime and spice notes combine with subtle peat smoke

Matured in a combination of Bourbon & Sherry Casks, bottled at 46% ABV"

My thoughts:

Appearance: Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up slowly and eventually fall as slow thick legs.

Nose: Ashy bonfire smoke, seaweed, a little tropical fruit and some vanilla. There's a little marzipan note - this noses quite like a peated Glen Scotia. A little time and air offers caramel, honey and a hint of citrus zest.

Palate: Smooth sweet arrival, a little oily even, turning smoky and spicy. The honey and caramel notes from the nose, this time salted, are here along with some icing sugar covered dried pineapple. It's very drying as the liquid disappears your mouth asking for more moisture and another sip. Lemon zest, bonbons, meringue and drizzle cake, reminiscent of a teenage Springbank, make an appearance. There's some minerality, a little mint, some gentle peppery spice and dry smoke.

Finish: Lingering dry smoke, dried pineapple and honey.

Thoughts: There's very little information about the ratios and individual maturation of the casks in this blend but you can tell it's from Campbeltown. For me the nose is Glen Scotia and the palate Springbank. being a J&A Mitchell's release I'm guessing the majority of this is Springbank, a little Hazelburn, a little Longrow and a tiny bit of Glen Scotia. It's good as most Springbank and Glen Scotia drams are - would you expect anything else when they are blended? I do hope they bring out another batch, it's an easy drinking blended malt much better than the Gauldrons from Douglas Laing and a lot cheaper.

Well worth trying but being from Springbank and being very reasonably priced it's nearly impossible to get hold of...

The song!

Oh! Campbeltown Loch, Ah wish ye were whisky!
Campbeltown Loch, Och Aye!
Campbeltown Loch, I wish ye were whisky!
Ah wid drink ye dry. 

Now Campbeltown Loch is a beautiful place,
But the price of the whisky is grim.
How nice it would be if the whisky was free
And the Loch was filled up to the brim. 

I'd buy a yacht with the money I've got
And I'd anchor it out in the bay.
If I wanted a nip I'd go in for a dip
I'd be swimmin' by night and by day. 

We'd have a gathering of the clans
They'd come from near and far
I can see them grin as they're wading in
And shouting "Slàinte mhath!". 

But what if the boat should overturn
And drowned in the whisky was I?
You'd hear me shout, you'd hear me call out
"What a wonderful way to die !" 

But what's this I see, ochone for me
It's a vision to make your blood freeze.
It's the police afloat in a dirty great boat
And they're shouting: "Time, gentlemen, please!"