Glen Scotia distillery

Glen Scotia Distillery was founded in 1832, and has been operating for one hundred and eighty years. Situated in Campbeltown, one of the recognised 5 Whisky producing regions of Scotland,[3] the distillery has a formidable pedigree.[4]

Campbeltown is a small town on the Kintyre Peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. It is affectionately known as the “Wee Toon”, and the Victorian Whisky Capital of the World. At its peak in the 1800s, there were 21 distilleries in this small town with approximately 170 distilleries operating at that time in the UK (129 of those in Scotland) Campbeltown still has 3 operating distilleries: Glen Scotia, Springbank, and Glengyle. These distilleries give a remarkable insight into the history of making whisky in this remote, once prolific, whisky making region of Scotland.

Glen Scotia was formerly known as 'Scotia' when it was first founded in 1832 by Stewart & Galbraith and Company. Stewart & Galbraith Co. ran the Distillery for almost 60 years. Notable industrialist Duncan MacCallum purchased the distillery in 1891 and he constructed the large frontage (Malting Floors) which run along High Street. In 2014, the distillery was bought by Loch Lomond Group who have invested heavily in the site by developing the brand, increasing capacity, opening warehouses and developing a distillery visitor centre.

Today, the distillery still maintains much of its original design, including the mashtun, the stillroom and the dunnage warehouse which dates back to the 1830s. Glen Scotia distillery currently operates with a staff of just 8 employees: one distillery manager, assistant distillery manager, visitor centre manager and five distillery operators. The visitor centre is open to the public and runs daily distillery tours and tastings, with a Victorian style shop to purchase the whisky, branded merchandise and other goods.

The Glen Scotia range has been simplified down to five core Single Malt expressions:

• Double Cask - 46% ABV
• 15 Year Old - 46% ABV
• Victoriana - 54.2% ABV
• 18 Year Old - 46% ABV
• 25 Year Old - 48.8% ABV

Glen Scotia's range showcases the typical Campbeltown flavour profile of toffee, maritime influence and a hint of smoke.

Glen Scotia Pot Still 2017

Iain Mcalister Glen Scotia's Master Distiller

Each of the core expressions have been designed to keep to an authentic 'Campbeltown Malt style' culminating in the Victoriana where the distillery has aimed to re-create a modern interpretation of classic Victorian Campbeltown Malt. Glen Scotia Distillery also regularly produces 'special' bottlings to celebrate local events, such as the centenary anniversary of the local Campbeltown Picture House.

Each year, for the annual Campbeltown Malt Whisky Festival, Glen Scotia release a special limited release bottling. In 2019 this was a 15 year old rum finish and 2020 a 14 year old Tawny Port finish.

Additionally, special releases and other small production run bottlings also exist.

The distillery draws its water from Crosshill Loch in Campbeltown.

The malt barley used is lightly peated, which gives a slight smokiness to the whisky.

Glen Scotia has one wash still, with a capacity of 16,000 litres, and one spirit still with a 12,000 litre capacity. The pot stills are onion shaped, with wide and short necks.

There are 9 washbacks within the distillery, these are all stainless steel.  The washbacks that Glen Scotia originally had were more than 40 years old and were made out of Corton Steel.

The current annual production levels stand at around 500,000 litres.

Glen Scotia’s whiskies have been recognised in many renowned award ceremonies, such as San Francisco World Spirits Awards, International Wine & Spirits Competition, World Whisky Awards, International Spirits Challenge & The Scotch Whisky Masters.

• Company Web Site
• Scotch Whisky
• Whisky Distilleries
• Malt Madness
• Owner's Website