Campbeltown 6 year old Blended Malt (Watt Whisky)

WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

The Fall and Rise of Campbeltown

This article is the second in a series of features focused on single cask releases from Watt Whisky. This time around, the whisky in question feels like home territory for the Campbeltown-based, independent bottler.

The Wee Toon (as it’s sometimes called) was once a bustling hub of whisky making. More than two dozen distilleries were operating within its borders by the late 1800s but the opening decades of the 20th century saw nearly all of them disappear.

Various reasons have been suggested for the collapse but the most likely explanation is a combination of factors both local and global. In the early 1900s, the Scotch whisky industry suffered a bust that resulted in the loss of distilleries and businesses all over the country. Then came the Great War and just as the world was beginning its long recovery from that conflict, the US government announced prohibition. The closure of the local coal mine, which had supplied fuel for the town’s distilleries was another nail in the coffin. The cutting of the rail service from Glasgow was another factor. One by one, the distilleries fell until only two remained: Springbank and Scotia.

Thus it remained for decades but the arrival of the new millennium saw J & A Mitchell of Springbank announce that they would be re-opening the lost Glengyle Distillery. Despite the small scale of production on-site, the distillery and its Kilkerran single malt brand have gone on to great success and more will soon follow.

At least three new distillery projects are in various stages of development. Dál Riata Distillery will be based in the very heart of the town, overlooking Campbeltown loch. Meanwhile, Brave New Spirits has been granted planning permission for its Witchburn Distillery project to be located between Campbeltown Airport and Machrihanish Village. Finally, R & B Distillers, the team behind the successful Raasay Distillery, has just received permission to go ahead with its Machrihanish Farm Distillery.

Campbeltown’s whisky story, it seems, is entering a new chapter. There is a feeling of cautious optimism that the town can flourish once again as a distilling hub though it is to be hoped that some of the lessons of the past have been learned. In the meantime, the Wee Toon’s three current distilleries continue to produce some excellent malts and Kate and Mark at Watt Whisky have very conveniently bottled some of it for our sipping pleasure.

*Full disclosure: the sample featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

The Whisky

Watt Whisky Campbeltown Blended Malt Sample

There’s no information about the specific origins of this blended malt, though given the scarcity of some Campbeltown drams, it probably wouldn’t be too much of a puzzle to piece together. The whisky is aged for 6 years and bottled at 58.6% ABV.

Smell: Malty and grassy at first. Then Oatcakes with vanilla. Some new oak. Buttery shortbread. Some apples, pears and green grapes. Some wee gentle woody spice. Toast.

Taste: Toffee. Apple. Caramel. Honey. White pepper. Lots of juicy oak. Gingery heat round the sides. New oak finish with some residual heat. Malty. Buttery. Buttered popcorn maybe. A splash of water brought out a lovely oiliness on the palate. Some really vibrant citrus notes too.

Thoughts: Quite a simple dram but effectively so. At 6 years there’s a wee bit of youth on show but it presents well and the cask has given some lovely oak flavours in a relatively short time. Not old, dusty, dunnage oak. More like new, freshly sawn two-by-fours with that slightly burnt smell and sawdust in the air. Nice mouthfeel and even though the peppery heat might be a sign of youth, water softened it a little without affecting the texture. Nothing fancy. Just good, traditional, Scotch malt whisky.

Price: £59.95. A tasty young dram at an inviting price.