A taste of Campbeltown and the Lowlands

Hello Everyone!  Now that we’ve talked about the basics of whisky (and whiskey), we’re going to go into a brief discussion of Scotch whisky.   Whisky has been made throughout Scotland, both legally and illegally, for at least five centuries.  As we mentioned last time, Scotch whisky was created from a Scottish drink called uisge beatha, meaning water of life.   It is fairly common for a culture to have its own “water of life” (think eau de vie), but Scotland’s version is likely the only one to have become a worldwide phenomenon.

In thinking about the different flavors and styles of Scotch whisky, we were reminded of all the differences that one can experience across the wine spectrum.  If we were to compare Scotch whisky to wine, these would be what we would call the “old world” wines.   (We’ll carry this theme through in later posts – for example, who is the Burgundy of Scotch, the Rioja, etc.).  There are five major Scotch whisky-producing regions:  the Highlands, the Lowlands, Speyside, Campbeltown, and Islay.  Other than Islay, the other islands are not recognized as a region by the Scotch Whisky Association, but are considered part of the Highlands region.  Nonetheless, many people would argue that the other islands (often called the maritime malts) maintain similar characteristics to Islay malts, and therefore, you will often see "the Islands" denoted as a consolidated whisky-producing region.

Scotch from the Lowlands is produced, predictably, in the southern part of the country, and tends to be the lightest of all Scotch varieties.  Many Lowlands distilleries have gone silent, but the two names that you’ll commonly encounter are Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan (pronounced aw-kan-tow-shan).  These tend to be aromatic with fruity or herbal notes, and are easily enjoyed.  They are generally aged mostly in ex-Bourbon casks.   Auchentoshan however has been expanding its line with multiple offerings including sherry and triple wood (aged in three different cask types: Bourbon, Oloroso Sherry, and Pedro Ximenez Sherry).  Auchentoshan is also triple-distilled in the manner of Irish whiskies, which contributes to its light, smooth flavor.

Another region, Campbeltown, is unique in that it is a relatively limited geographic area (especially when compared to the Highlands and Lowlands).  Campbeltown is a town located on the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula in southwestern Scotland, tucked away in a protected bay.  The drive along the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula to get to Campbeltown is quite scenic and alternates between rocky shoreline and long stretches of beach.  In the late 19^th into the early 20^th centuries, Campbeltown had over 34 distilleries and was dubbed “Whisky City,” with a reputation to rival Speyside.  Today, there are only two distilleries operating in Campbeltown.

Campbeltown is now anchored by Springbank and its sister distillery Glengyle, and Glen Scotia.  Glengyle was recently re-opened in 2004 after almost 80 years of silence.  These whiskies tend to be lightly peated compared to other nearby regions such as Islay or Jura, but with a full body and flavor.  Springbank is practically a malt whisky industry in its own right: it is one of the few distilleries that still malts its own barley using the traditional floor maltings, and includes a line that ranges from light and triple-distilled (Hazelburn) to a heavily peated, double-distilled malt (Longrow), with the traditional Springbank label in between.  Springbank’s sister distillery, Glengyle, is producing whisky under the name Kilkerran.  The Kilkerran “Work in Progress” line shows a young malt of varying ages, which is a great way to taste the evolution of the whisky as it ages.  We tasted the 8 year old Kilkerran, and it certainly compared favorably to many 10 year old malts that we’ve tried. 

Stay tuned for more discussions about Scotland and its water of life.  If you have a favorite malt, we’d love to hear about it!