ONE OF THE FIRST (AND LAST)
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. The last century saw turbulent times for the whisky distillers of Campbeltown, yet our legacy endures.
SINCE 1832, GLEN SCOTIA HAS BEEN SHAPED BY PEOPLE, TIME AND EVENTS – AS WELL AS THE HISTORY OF CAMPBELTOWN ITSELF.
Campbeltown is a very special place in Scotland, referred to as ‘the centre of the universe’ by some of its current residents. With an abundance of rich farmland, local barley, peat and fresh water, it was almost inevitable it would become a vital part of the history of whisky distilling.
Distilling on the Kintyre peninsula dates back to 1609 with the granting of the first licence to produce ‘aqua vitae’. In the Victorian age, Campbeltown was known as the whisky capital of the world – one of the five distinctive malt producing regions of Scotland, namely Highland, Speyside, Lowland and Islay and of course, Campbeltown. Glen Scotia is a fine example of this historic region.
OUR DISTLLERY
Rich in original features and equipment, Glen Scotia is an evocative and unique place to work, as well as visit. We work hard to maintain the distillery’s historic buildings and workings with care and pride and love showing visitors around.
To this day, we’re following in the footsteps of our founders, distilling whisky using traditional methods, carefully creating the unique Campbeltown maritime style we’ve become world famous for.
But we make more than whisky at Glen Scotia. In the courtyard you’ll find two hives, where our resident bees create their delicious honey.
OUR WHISKIES
Glen Scotia has always produced two styles of whisky – peated and non peated. Typically our peated whisky is made over a period of 6 weeks per year.
Over the years the quality of our whisky has grown, with longer fermentation and vatting of the malted barley, as well as a slower and more careful distillation. But overall the process has remained the same. Although we no longer malt our own barley, we buy in Scottish malted barley to our exact specification in order to maintain the true Glen Scotia character through our distilling process. We’d love to welcome you to Glen Scotia.
Using only malted barley sourced from the east of Scotland, the process of distilling Glen Scotia single malt Scotch whisky is known as small batch processing. The result is a fine selection of single malt whiskies that are gaining a new following worldwide.
The process known as ‘small batch process’ involves the malted barley first being placed in the Mash Tun where two consecutive waters are added over a period of 8 hours. The first water is added at 66 degrees and the second at 72 degrees.
The Wort, as it is known, is placed in the Washbacks at 22 degrees where yeast is added. The Wort remains in the Washbacks for upwards of 70 hours before being moved to the Wash Still for the initial distillation. The first stage distillation lasts for around 9 hours.
The liquid will be taken off from the Wash Still at around 20% ABV The second distillation in the Spirits Still starts around 20 minutes later when the foreshorts are taken off at 74% ABV and this runs down until 71% ABV. At this point we start to take off the pure spirit. This continues all the way down until the spirits reaches 63% ABV. The average spirit strength at this point is 69% ABV. A little water is added and the whisky enters the casks at 63.5% ABV, the casks are then delivered and laid down in the Dunnage warehouse to be aged by the magic of the wood and the unique Campbeltown weather.
Happily, the Kintyre peninsula had an abundance of the ‘ingredients’ needed for distilling: a bountiful fresh water supply, local barley, fuel and peat. By 1795 there were 21 known illicit stills in Campbeltown and 10 in the surrounding countryside. The first distillery in town was the Campbeltown Distillery, established in 1817.
THE SCOTIA DISTILLERY IS FORMED
Scotia was established in 1832 by the town’s Dean of Guild James Stewart and Provost John Galbraith. By 1835 Scotia was one of the 29 thriving Distilleries in Campbeltown. Campbeltown’s boom in whisky production was due in part to steam navigation – this allowed whisky to be shipped directly to Glasgow in just 9 hours.
A SAD DECLINE
In 1923 the Drumlemble Colliery closed ending cheap local fuel supplies. Meanwhile, the Great Depression and Prohibition were playing their part. By 1929 only three distilleries remained open in Campbeltown: Scotia, Springbank and Ri-Clachan. Then March 20 1930 saw the last production at Scotia before the distillery fell silent.
THE CAMPBELTOWN REGION PREVAILS
Thankfully, the Bloch Brothers bought the distillery in 1933 and reopened as Glen Scotia. However, by 1934 Ri-Clachan had closed its doors and the once thriving whisky capital of the world had only two distilleries remaining. Then in 1984 Glen Scotia fell silent yet again for five years, leaving just one. 1989 saw an upturn in fortune once more and Glen Scotia opened again under the Gibson ownership. It was joined in 2000 when the Glengyle distillery reopened. Crucially, this brought the number of distilleries in the area back up to three, reestablishing Campbeltown’s status as a whisky-producing region.
THE (RE)BIRTH OF GLEN SCOTIA
The distillery changed hands a number of times, and in 2014 was bought by the Loch Lomond Group who have invested and developed this legendary brand, increasing capacity, opening warehouses and creating a visitor centre. Today, Glen Scotia continues to thrive at the heart of the whiskiest place in the world.
