Discovering Campbeltown's Lost Distilleries

Inside the former warehouse of Hazelburn.

In Victorian times, Campbeltown was the whisky capital of Scotland. Renowned author Alfred Barnard traveled there while writing his seminal book The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom in 1885 and found over 30 distilleries to visit. Now, there are just three. On a recent visit to the town we went on a walk with a local guide around some of the former sites and discovered what went wrong.

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Whisky is engrained in the history and heritage of Campbeltown. There is evidence of it on almost every street and around every corner it seems. Located at the end of the Kintyre peninsula, Campbeltown was once a giant of the Scotch whisky industry. Old buildings remain and road names refer to past distilleries that are long gone. You cannot help but feel a bit of sadness as you walk around.

Have just tried - Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel

Using the government’s alcohol duty rise as a pathetic excuse to buy some more whisky (I persuaded myself I’d be saving money in the long run if I bought a few bottles before the rise!) I decided to purchase a whisky I’d had my eye on for a while. The Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel represents the latest in a number of limited whiskies Suntory release every now and then that, to date, have included heavily peated and sherry puncheon matured expressions.

Located at the foot of a mountain in a bamboo forest just outside Japan’s ancient capital Kyoto, Yamazaki distillery was founded by Shinjiro Torii in 1923. It was his ambition to make a Japanese whisky along the same lines as the Scottish whiskies that were very popular at the time. To this end he despatched his able assistant Masataka Taketsuru to Scotland to learn everything there is to know about making Scotch whisky.

Taketsuru’s time in Scotland makes for an amazing story. In 1918 he turned up alone in Scotland, determined to learn the art of brewing and distilling. A very brave thing to do at a time when people travelled such shorter distances than they do now. Britain must have seemed like a completely different world to him. He enrolled at Glasgow University and at one point travelled up to Elgin in the hope for learning first hand the skills needed for Suntory to start distilling whisky. It was at Longmorn distillery that he found someone willing to take him on and show him the ropes. His course at Glasgow also enabled him to work at Hazelburn distillery in Campbeltown. During all this he also found time to fall in love and get hitched to his landlady's daughter.

Job done, on returning to Japan with his new wife, Taketsuru’s newfound skills and knowledge were instrumental in founding Yamazaki - Japans first single malt distillery. Soon afterwards, he left Suntory to start Japan’s other major whisky company, Nikka.

This Yamazaki was released in 2011 along side a Bourbon Barrel matured expression from its sister distillery Hakushu and is bottled at a generous 48.5% from first fill bourbon barrels.

Our tasting notes
On first nosing there are lots of cereal notes - shredded wheat, malting floors, Japanese tea, mashed potatoes, Rusks. Along side all this there’s also a nice sweet citrus fruit aroma lending a nice balance, a bit like lime cordial and chocolate limes. After a while it gets fruitier and sweeter with a little breathing with aromas of apples, pears, bananas, cherries, refresher sweets, custard powder and milk chocolate.

On the palate, there’s some lovely big first fill bourbon barrel flavours. Starting with some sweet and fruity flavours - Banoffee pie, white chocolate, bubblegum, Belgian tripel beer. The palate gradually gets a little more bitter, oaky and hot with pepper and cloves. The finish is long and tannic with a nice bittersweet blackberry note. Excellently balanced. Lots of estery flavours of fruits and sweet things balanced by an equally large dollop of drying austerity from the oak.

What’s the verdict?
Well, I wasn’t disappointed with my purchase. It’s nearest to the 12-Year-old expression out of the three standard releases but much more complex and intense. An excellently balanced whisky full of character and flavour. As far as I know it is just available in Europe and Japan. It is limited to just 3000 bottles throughout Europe, 1000 of which are for the U.K. You can get if for around £65.

New releases ... Hazelburn CV

Hazelburn CV forms part of a new series of whiskies for 2010 from the cult Springbank distillery. Springbank is located in the town of Campbeltown, which is found on a narrow peninsula on the west Highland coast of Scotland.The distillery is unique in the fact that it regularly produces three different single malts on the same site - Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn - and each has its own definitive style. Springbank is lightly smoky, Longrow is very smoky and Hazelburn is not smoky at all but is distilled three times (compared to twice, which is the Scottish norm).

Hazelburn whisky was first distilled at Springbank in 1997, with the first release in 2005 as an 8 year old single malt. It is distilled three times and is one of the only Scottish whiskies to experience a full third distillation. Only a limited number of bottles are released each year. Hazelburn is available as an 8 year old (now on its 4th release), a 12 years old which was first released in August 2009 and now this CV version. Hazelburn is named after one of the long defunct Campbeltown distilleries, as is Longrow.

J & A Mitchell, the owners of Springbank, have decided to add Hazelburn and Springbank CV to the already existing Longrow CV, that was first released about two years ago. The CV stands for 'Curriculum Vitae' and the whiskies are created using single malts of varying ages from each expression. At this moment, they are only available in a pack which contains one 20cl bottle of each expression. This is on sale as the 'Campbeltown CV pack' for about £35 and all are bottled at 46% ABV. The news is that full 70cl bottles of the Springbank CV will be available very soon in late January, with the 70cl bottles of the Hazelburn CV coming later in March/April 2010 depending on stock levels. Prices are as yet unavailable.

The Hazelburn CV (pictured above, in the centre) has a light golden, almost straw-like colour. The nose is aromatic and clean with a lovely initial hit of fresh green fruit (imagine a pear or apple). Following this comes a tempting mix of sweet vanilla, malty cereal grains, honey and something floral (think of honeysuckle). The nose does exactly what it should and make you want to taste the whisky immediately! On the palate, this does not disappoint - it is again clean and fresh and slightly fuller bodied than the nose suggested. It feels creamy with the honey as the prominent note, backed up by the sweet vanilla, malty cereals, a hint of honeysuckle and green fruits from the nose. The whisky becomes sweeter with the addition of a dash of water, with the green fruits particularly coming out and getting more exaggerated (think of peardrop sweets). The finish is reasonably long, pure and refreshing, combining all the elements before fading away. The honeyed and vanilla notes are lovely.

Hazelburn CV is the first great whisky of 2010 (OK, it was released just before Christmas but who is counting?). The whisky is fantastically fresh and is softer and more balanced than the previous Hazelburn releases that we have sampled (these have been heavily influenced by the sherry cask maturation that they have undergone and while being of good quality and enjoyable to drink, the subtly of the whisky is in danger of being lost). It is similar to some Lowland whiskies, that are light, clean and floral in style. Let's hope that J & A Mitchell find enough stock to give this whisky a deserved full release!

Have just tried ... Hazelburn 12 years old

Hazelburn is a single malt whisky that is made by the Springbank distillery. It is located on the Campbeltown peninsula on the west Highland coast. Springbank is one of only three distilleries left in an area of Scotland that 200 years ago supported over 30 distilleries (Glen Scotia and Glengyle are the others). Springbank is small with a production capacity of only 750,000 litres per year, but their whiskies are highly regarded around the world. It has been owned by the same family, the Mitchell's, since it was founded in 1828 and this makes Springbank the oldest distillery in Scotland that has been continually owned by the same family.

Springbank is the only distillery in Scotland to regularly produce three different single malt whiskies - Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn - using three different production methods. The production is split between the three throughout the year with roughly 80% of the time going to Springbank, 10% to Longrow and 10% to Hazelburn. Springbank is made in the lightly peated style, Longrow is heavily peated and Hazelburn is unpeated.

Hazelburn whisky was first distilled in 1997, with the first release in 2005 as an 8 year old single malt. It is distilled three times and is one of the only Scottish whiskies to experience a full third distillation. Only a limited number of bottles are released each year. Hazelburn is available as an 8 year old (now on its 4th release) and this 12 years old, which was first released in August 2009 and is limited to 3900 bottles. Hazelburn is named after one of the long defunct Campbeltown distilleries, as is Longrow.

The colour of this Hazelburn 12 years old is an intense dark burnt amber, showing that the whisky has been matured in some serious sherry casks. The nose is highly aromatic and packed with the common characteristics associated with sherry cask maturation - plenty of dried fruits (think of raisins and candied orange peel), sweet caramel, nuts (especially something like walnut) and spice (imagine cinnamon and nutmeg). However, there are also some darker, more bitter notes on this complex nose - dark chocolate, damp wood, roasted coffee beans and just a hint of smoke, although this is slightly sulphuric and tobacco-like. On the palate, this is rich, dense and creamy with many of the elements of the nose carried through. There is sweetness coming from the dried fruit/citrus peel (there is an orange marmalade feel), caramel and nutty influences and these are balanced by the darker bitter notes such as the chocolate, coffee and spices (ginger is particularly prominent). The finish is long with lots of caramel sweetness followed by drier woody and spicy (especially nutmeg) notes.

The Hazelburn 12 years old is an interesting, intense and complex whisky. It is an enjoyable dram but the intensity of the sherry cask influence may be too much for some palates and is in danger of overpowering what is undoubtedly a lovely, creamy triple distilled spirit. It will be interesting to see how the future releases of Hazelburn are to be matured and what they will taste like. A bottle of this first release will be found in specialist whisky retailers for £45-50.

Have just tried ... The Scotch Malt Whisky Society's new releases

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a members club devoted to bottling single casks of whisky. They concentrate mostly on Scottish malt distilleries, although they do release some grain whiskies and malts from other countries. The Society has its base in the UK with two members rooms in Edinburgh and one in London. There are also bases spreading around the world and these currently include America, Australia, Japan and throughout Europe. The collection of whiskies is extensive, covering 126 different distilleries and they bottle over 200 new casks every year. The Society celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and currently has over 20,000 members spread around the globe. For information about joining and to look through their extensive range of whiskies, visit www.smws.co.uk.

The newest selection of bottlings are being released on Friday 1 May and we were lucky enough to be invited to try some of them at the London members rooms of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Their whiskies seem to offer great value for money and are of supreme quality as they go through a rigorous tasting panel process. All are bottled at their natural cask strength and are unchillfiltered to maximise the flavours and characteristics of the whisky. They also have a unique labelling system uses numbers rather than naming distilleries. For example, something labelled as 25.47 has 25 being the number ID of the distillery and 47 being the number of casks bottled from that distillery. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society believe that the numbering system removes any bias that people have about certain distilleries and allows members to concentrate on the aromas, flavours and characteristics of the whisky.

25.47 (Rosebank 19 years old)
Rosebank is a Lowland whisky and the distillery closed in 1993. The whisky as a result is running out and becoming harder to find. A great way to try it is through independent bottlings. The colour is light but golden and the nose is lovely and fresh. There is a gorgeous citrus note (think of lemon) with some sweet vanilla, something herbal (imagine fresh green grass) and a floral element (sounds strange I know, but think of roses). The palate is light and zingy with lots of that lemon and vanilla, some honey and a slight warm spicy note (reminding me of ginger). With water, it became sweeter with the spiciness becoming more prominent. The finish was shortish, crisp, very refreshing and palate cleansing with the herbal element coming through well.
Info - 56.7% ABV, 256 bottles, £73

36.42 (Benrinnes 16 years old)
This Speyside distillery is relatively hard to find as a single malt. This is due to its owners, Diageo, using the majority of the whisky produced at Benrinnes for their highly popular Johnnie Walker blended range. It is well reknowned for its use of quality sherry casks and this can be first seen in the colour, which is amber with a slight brown orange tint. The nose is wonderful, sweet and rich with dried fruit (think of raisins and sultanas), caramel, something slightly nutty (imagine almonds, I think) and something bitter (think of dark chocolate). These are replicated beautifully on the palate and are joined by a grainy cereal note (almost like a digestive biscuit). This cereal element is enhanced when water is added, as is the caramel. The finish is long, rounded, fruity and complex. An excellent example of a sherry cask matured whisky and a bargain price.
Info - 57% ABV, 542 bottles, £46

126.1 (Hazelburn 11 years old)
Hazelburn is produced by the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown. They distil Hazelburn for just one month of the year and it is unusual among Scottish whisky, as it is distilled three times instead of twice. The lack of production limits stock and this is the first cask of Hazelburn ever released by the Society. It has been matured in a Pedro Ximinez sherry cask and this evident in the colour, which is very dark and resembles espresso coffee. The nose is very rich and complicated with everything battling away together. There are dried fruit (think of raisins and candied orange peel), dark chocolate, black treacle, intense coffee, something solventy and waxy (sounds odd but think of furniture polish) and a hint of sulphuric smoke (imagine coal burning or a burning match head). This is rich, sweet and treacley on the palate and covers the inside of your mouth. The complexity from the nose makes this an intense experience with the candied orange peel in particularly prominent. With water, it becomes more sulphuric and the treacle becomes more sugary. The finish is long, rich and intensely fruity, but becomes slightly woody and tannic at the end.
Info - 56.7% ABV, 207 bottles, £49

27.74 (Springbank 12 years old)
The Springbank distillery in Campbeltown has a cult following of whisky drinkers. Its popularity is based on a reputation of high quality and distinctive whiskies. This one is no different. The colour is extremely light and straw-like. This is quite salty on the nose with lots of vanilla complimenting this (a number of people commented that it reminded them of an anejo tequila or mezcal). The palate is light and refreshing with a lovely herbal note (think of dried grasses), plenty of that vanilla and an interesting citrus note (imagine grapefruit). It is all back up with a touch of smoke (think of burning embers). With water the saltiness really comes out and the initial grassiness becomes more vegetal (think of seaweed). The finish is reasonably long, salty and smoky, yet light and refreshing. Excellent whisky for an excellent price.
Info - 57% ABV, 193 bottles, £49

33.75 (Ardbeg 7 years old)
This bottling is from the iconic Ardbeg distillery on the south eastern coast of the island of Islay. It is a young whisky that is light, pale straw in colour. Initially, it doesn't seem that smoky but this starts to change with time. The smoky peatiness becomes stronger and gets quite spicy (think of black pepper). In addition, the nose has some lovely herbal notes (imagine fresh cut grass) and vanilla. On the palate, the peatiness is still spicy and is reminiscent of charcoal embers. The youthful age is evident as there are some fresh green fruits present (think of pears and apples) but these mix well with the grassiness, vanilla and smoke. There is also a slight saltiness that creeps in. With water, the vanilla becomes sweeter and the smokiness becomes more earthy (imagine damp moss). The finish is very long, spicy and peaty. Younger whiskies can be under developed and a bit harsh, but Ardbeg handles it youthfulness well as demonstrated here and in their 'Very/Still Young' range.
Info - 61.5% ABV, 260 bottles, £47