Witchburn - a new distillery in Campbeltown
Campbeltown is the smallest whisky producing region. And it's a region full of contradictions. On the one hand, this is where perhaps the most coveted Scotch whisky by lovers of the drink comes from, on the other hand - the region was not so long ago in danger of being delisted due to the negligible number of distilleries operating there. There was a time when the region's stature was sustained on its shoulders only by the Springbank distillery.
This was not always the case. In the region's heyday, at the turn of the 20th century, there were about 30 Scotch whisky factories in a small area, whose products were immensely popular. A regular sea connection to the port of Glasgow - and Campbeltown whisky effortlessly conquered world markets, including mainly the US. It all ended in the 1920s. In the 1970s, when the local coal mine in Drumlemble ran out of the resource and shipping proved uneconomic. The competition was insurmountable in the booming Speyside region, connected to Glasgow and Edinburgh by rail line.
In recent years Campbeltown has begun to regain its former luster, although it is still a long way from the number of thirty operating distilleries. The town is home not only to Springbank, but also to Glen Scotia and Glengyle, and to say that all three distilleries have no problems selling their products is like saying nothing at all. There are long lines for Springbank products on the day of their release, and the secondary market is multiplying their prices day by day.
In addition to the three currently in operation, two more are planned for the region - Dal Riata and Machrihanish. Today we learned of plans to build another.
Witchburn Distillery, for that is the name of the new project, to be erected on the site of a former RAF air base between the local airport and the settlement of Machrihanish, a few kilometers west of the town of Campbeltown. This is a venture by Brave New Spirits, which has already managed to grace the shoulders - and hearts - of whisky lovers with its independent bottlings of whiskies from Scottish distilleries, including the hugely popular Voodoo Whisky series.
The new distillery is to be powered entirely by renewable energy sources, and 24/7 operation is expected to maximize savings on heat, used at various stages of the production process. The plant will operate four alembics, which are expected to give the distillery a maximum capacity of 2 million liters of pure alcohol per year. Fermentation is expected to last a long time, even 96 or more hours. The whisky, produced in non-peaty, lightly peated and heavily peated versions, will be aged from a careful selection of casks in on-site warehouses near the sea. Production will be overseen by Andrew Nairn, former manager of Glenkinchie, Strathmill and Borders distilleries.
If all goes according to plan, whisky production is expected to begin in Witchburn late next year.
[24.05.2023 / graphic: Brave New Spirits]