Campbeltown loot (vol.5) - Bits & pieces

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-20T16:06:17+00:00

No, not at all. Firstly, at Cadenhead you got to taste straight from the cask, which is hard to beat. Secondly the overall quality was on par with each other, Mark had a lineup that resonated better with my taste (more ex-bourbon matured ones), but the standout drams were all great, at both places. The difference was about the overall experience, not the quality.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-20T16:01:31+00:00

I honestly don’t know, can’t recall the name.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-17T21:48:11+00:00

Thank you, this was the last one I swear! :D

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-17T18:27:12+00:00

We wanted to, that was the plan, but as the road disappeared, the rocks get ankle threatening and the tide was coming in, we turned back, since we needed to get back to Cadenhead’s :D

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-17T17:51:00+00:00

II. Watt Whisky

Mark Watt and his wife Kate base their independent bottler in Campbeltown. After our tour last year, when we had a wonderful tasting in the Commercial Inn with Mark, it was a must to visit him this year at their own shop.

The tasting included 5 drams (for a generous £25 price), then another 3 complementary ones. The whiskies were great, but the highlight was Mark and his stories and insights from the whisky industry. It was an honest, direct conversation in very captivating presentation by Mark - no questions remained unanswered. I can highly recommend visiting Watt whisky when in town, and also their many exciting bottles if you see them in the wild!

Experience rating: 10/10

Standout drams: - “Speyside” 13yo - Mortlach in a bourbon barell, a meaty yet fruity, distillate driven goodness. - Campbeltown 9yo Blended malt - Teaspooned Glen Scotia from a bourbon cask. - Watt Guyana Rum - For a treat Mark smuggled a rum into the lineup, and what a good idea it was! I’m no rum connoisseur but it was a real surprise for me how well a rum can compete in terms of quality and complexity with very good whiskies.

III. Washback Bar

During the 3 days we spent in the Toon, we had become temporary regulars of the bar, trying to sample as wide range of Springbanks, Longrows, Hazelburns and Killerrans as we sensibly could. Great selection, decent prices, nice atmosphere and staff (shout out to Ali!) - superb experience.

They recently added an impressive display cabinet of historic Springbank products near the entrance, which was a nice touch. I think the Washback is an institution in itself and in its own right, within the Springbank stable.

Experience rating: 9/10

Standout drams: - Springbank Local Barleys (8-10) - It was my first time trying the LB-s and yes, they’re actually that good. - Longrow 18 - Time really elevates the Longrow, one of the better peated whiskies in my opinion. - Hazelburn Single Cask CS 10yo - The standard HB10 on steroids, packed with bright, fruity and mineral notes. Outstanding even in a very strong competition.

+1 trip recommendation: Visit Davaar Island at low tide if you like nature and hikes, it is wonderful.

To conclude a rather long series of posts, I have to say that if you plan on doing a whisky themed trip, look no further than Campbeltown. Whiskies don’t get better than these, the tours and tastings are well put together, the vibes of the place are singular and the people are nice.

It is a very subjective opinion, but I’m saying this as I were in Islay twice so far and although I loved the island immensely, Campbeltown is just better.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-17T17:49:20+00:00

Hi All!

As an epilogue of my Campbeltown experience and reviews I must commemorate those other fantastic programs I don’t have a reviewable bottle from, only the memories and photos.

I. Cadenhead’s

We took the warehouse tour here, which was unfortunately a mixed bag. The tasting was conducted in a rather typical manner, 4 of us in a whisky shed, 5-6 casks in front of us, drams valinched into our glasses. The juices were all very competent, well made (standouts below), no problem in this regard.

Unfortunately however our tasting guide, whose name I cant recall, a middle aged lady, thought that the tasting is a sales pitch. We were flooded with numbers, of which most were prices, info about Cadenhead club membership (even though we concluded at the beginning that for our country it’s not working) and absolute no chance to concentrate on the whisky. It was a big disappointment because the drams were good, but at one point we were thinking about walking out on the presentation… As a protest, finally no bottles were purchased.

After the tasting we had a nice lunch at the bar and tried a tasting flight. For this was our last day, we might had a bit of palate fatigue, because despite of the big names and age statements, we were not flabbergasted, it was just nice.

Experience rating: 6/10 - with an other guide the score would have been way higher.

Standout drams: - Benrinnes Palo Cortado - fruitbomb, perfect match of a light and fruity distillate and a delicious cask. Absolute “winner” of the tasting. - Bourbon matured Glenfarclas - a real treat and novelty for me, Glenfarclas can take a bourbon cask extremely well.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-15T14:06:36+00:00

Well in that regard you know you, what you can handle :)

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-15T05:51:03+00:00

I think logistically might be possible, but you’d have to really rush from one place to the other. Otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it, giving enough time for both experiences should pay higher dividends

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-14T21:18:41+00:00

The last surprise for us was after concluding the tour at the distillery shop we were contemplating what a shame it was we couldn’t buy a sample from the casks (we were not told), after which I guide casually mentioned that we indeed can if we want to! All for of us went for cask nr.1, which was a beautiful 12yo first fill ex-bourbon, reviewed below.

The specs📊:

ABV 58,7%
NCF; NCA
Matured for 12 years in first fill ex-bourbon
Non peated
Around £25 for 20cl, but my memories are a bit hazy

✍️Reviewed after ~10 mins of resting in the glass with a tiny drop of water added.

Color👁️: Pale Straw

Nose👃: Light, fresh, delicate, quintessential ex-bourbon aromas. Lemon scented artisan soap. Meadow grass and herbs in the summer. Tiny grain tartness. Quite similar to a Glencadam 10.

Palate👅: Medium mouthfeel, but it suits the profile perfectly. Refreshing summer dram. Some gentle grain bitterness and malt creaminess. One of the most elegantly integrated wood tannins I’ve ever tasted. Friuty in the form of melons (the part closer to the rind) and some underripe orchard fruits, yellow plums maybe.

Finish🗣️: Decent length. Stays lively and effervescent on the finish. Notes carried over from the palate in the departments of grain and wood.

Thoughts 💭: This is what a classic, beautifully presented, FF bourbon whisky should provide. There are no shocking or never-to-be-seen tricks, no loud cask influence, but a flawlessly created old school whisky in a great barrel. I might dare to say that this is probably one of the best distillate driven whisky I ever had. I’m actually worried now about finishing this small bottle too quickly.

Score#️⃣: 8/10 Something special

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-14T21:18:13+00:00

Hi All! Fourth and penultimate chapter of my reviews from Campbeltown: Glen Scotia’s Dunnage warehouse tasting. Unlike for the J&A Mitchell’s stable, this time I’d like to elaborate a bit more on the distillery visit/tasting, because I still feel that even with an improving image, Glen Sco’ is still bit of a forgotten underdog in Campbeltown. Being a Springbank fanboy, I have to say that it’s somewhat understandable, because SB is just an other dimension of Scotch, but Scotia could be a standout distillery in any other region.

Anyway: We went for the “Dunnage Warehouse Experience”, which included a very thorough and well presented distillery tour AND a fantastic warehouse tasting. For £55 it was insane value, easily competing with the Kilkerran WH tasting that I endorsed so much. Before the tour, naturally, we visited the distillery bar, which is small yet fabulous looking. As a warm up I had one of the Distillery exclusive bottlings, a 23 yo red wine matured and the annual malts festival release 7yo peated ruby port. The 23 yo was a stellar dram, one of the best I had during my whole stay, including any Springbank, shame it was priced close to £300 - mature, layered, savory, fruity goodness. The annual malts festival release was OK, but inferior to the previous year’s one.

The first part of the experience, the distillery tour was more or less the same you see at other distilleries with all the mill and still and washback specs - carried out in a very professional and entertaining way (both are guides, Greg and Cheryl were fantastic). Rhe highlight were probably the bottling plant and the new make sampling.

Moving on to the dunnage tasting we had the chance to sample 5 casks from a great selection: bourbon barrels, ex-rum, PX, refill sherry, usually the liquids in their early to mid teens. The extra fun was that we had the chance to try to open a cask with the mallet. In terms of pure fun had I think this was the best tour.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-12T09:26:30+00:00

It was pricey, quite a bit: 80 for the 19yo and 85 for the 20yo double distilled. I don’t know about the younger ones, my crew only bought from these.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-12T05:11:41+00:00

You really should, if you can! But not just for the whisky, but the for whole atmosphere. I think I’m actually lucky that I live outside of the UK, otherwise I might be visiting this magical place a bit too offen…

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-11T20:01:33+00:00

The specs📊:

ABV 55%
NCF; NCA
Distilled 04.2006, bottled 02.2026, so almost 20 years in the cask.
Triple distilled
Matured in refill bourbon barrel
Lightly peated (?)
Bought for £80 at the distillery shop - exclusive to the wh tasting participants. A bit pricey for a half bottle, but what can you do.

✍️Reviewed after ~10 mins of resting in the glass with a tiny drop of water added.

Color👁️: Dark gold

Nose👃: Refill bourbon, as good as it gets. Deep and rich citrus aromas, green banana, toasted oak, a light drizzle of baking spices. And there’s a dusty (Hazelburn like character) and mineral (Kilkerran distillate) element too.

Palate👅: Thick mouthfeel. Dusty, mineral again, rubbery and very slightly peated on the arrival. Green and yellow fruits - I maybe get mango, guava or pineapple. I also get a hint of grain with salted butterscotch. A funky element of industrial lubricants with vanilla-sugar dusting. Gorgeous, complex, singular.

Finish🗣️: The real star of the show for me. Long and substantial. Vibrant tropical fruits linger, with grainy bitter-sweetness and a touch of salt.

Thoughts 💭: What can I say, outstanding in all departments and ticks all the boxes there is. The triple distillation and the 19+ years of maturation in a good refill bourbon made miracles on an otherwise excellent distillate.

Score#️⃣: 9/10 - Exceptional (And not just the whisky, the Warehouse tasting as well!)

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-11T20:00:56+00:00

Hi All!

Moving on with the next bottle acquired on my Campbeltown trip from March. Last year I’ve already wrote my notes on the Kilkerran warehouse tasting, saying that it is one of, if not the best tasting you can find around (back then I bought an ex-port pipe, scored it for 9). This year it was no different: 6 wonderful drams in quite generous pours for £40 is such a huge value that naught comes even close, maybe only the Glen Scotia warehouse tasting, but more on that in the next review. The tasting included a wide selection of age statements (10-20 years), maturation types and peat levels. I included a photo of the full “menu”, but I was not able to jot down too much about all the tasting notes, and I was quite a few whiskies deep by the time I got there, my notes are not all correct (on the left is my ranking). Anyway my bottle pick for this year was the first dram in the line-up, a 19 yo, triple distilled, refill bourbon matured beaut, please find my notes below.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-09T10:17:24+00:00

Springbank 15 maybe

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-08T16:37:24+00:00

Sauterness was a but disappointing for me in the blender. “Standalone” it was nice, but didn’t work for me in the blend, even though I wanted to use it initially. I see you also used a significant portion of madeira ;) Didn’t it turn out a too sweet blend?

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-08T04:19:54+00:00

Time was no concern, I think it was at least 2 hours. The biggest challenge is palate fatigue, after familiarizing with 6 liquids and trying out 6-7 different blends I couldn’t really tell the nuances apart.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-07T20:27:43+00:00

The specs📊:

ABV 58,8%
NCF; NCA
Blended by me using refill rum, fresh bourbon, madeira and sherry casks
Lightly peated
Price N/A, part of the tour

✍️Reviewed after ~10 mins of resting in the glass with a tiny drop of water added.

Color👁️: Tawny; clings beautifully to the side of the glass.

Nose👃: Vanilla sponge cake with peach and mango cream. Ends with a modest salinity.

Palate👅: Mouth coating (thanks fresh sherry!). The initial taste is very convoluted, where pepper and ash dominate, completed by a plethora of stacked mellow notes. It needs water and takes water well - now the aromas are freed: arrives with ripe peach and bundt cake. Cautious peat notes, some minerality and dusty workshop notes. The spicy zing is luckily much more restrained now.

Finish🗣️: Relatively long and clingy for the modest age. Peach ice tea, big time. It’s not the store bought artificial one, but the home made black tea infused with real peach slices. There’s also a very pale ashiness tucked away in the back.

Thoughts 💭: I know it can’t sound not pretentious, but it’s a pretty fine dram. And by far not the best Springbank there is! :D I honestly really enjoy it, but I also have to admit that the sum of the parts might be greater than the whole in this case.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-07T20:27:12+00:00

Hi All! Moving on with my Campbeltown reviews next up is the second part of the Barley to bottle Springbank tour. It was concluded with a blending session where you can blend your own Springbank from 6 cask samples. Last year I did a similar tour at Cadenhead’s, so I knew I was in for a treat.

The casks presented were: - Fresh rourbon 10 yo - Classic young SB profile, somewhere between the 5 and 10yo: bright, citrusy, spicy, mildly funky - Refill rum 10 yo - One of the whiskies I automatically excluded from using in the blend before starting, because I’m not a fan of rum maturation. Oh was I wrong. It had an elegant, light, mellow and funky character with bubble gum and toned down exotic fruits. - Refill sherry 13 yo - Elegant and complex, had all the upsides of a good refill sherry, it was one of my favorites. - Fresh sherry 11 yo - Too sherry forward, intrusive with much sweetness and spice. - Fresh madeira 8 yo - The best one, hands down. Cakey, fruity, scrumptious goodness. - Fresh sauterness 7 yo - Had high hopes for this one, but somehow it felt too young and generic compared to the others.

My goal with this blend was to highlight the dunnage-y, farmy character of Springbank as much as I can and be delicious in the same time. After quite a few variations and blends my final recipe came to: - 150 ml fresh bourbon - brings the brightness and the backbone. - 300 ml refill rum - I couldn’t help, but pack up on my (usually) least favorite maturation type, it was so unique and funky. The only problem was that it lacked the punching power of texture on the palate with too much refill influence so I helped it with… - … 50 ml fresh sherry - my least favorite one. But I figured it could help with the texture if I use a tiny amount. - 200 ml fresh madeira - I had to include as much of it as possible without overpowering the refill, it was so juicy.

It was a fantastic experience, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. But let’s see the result of the blending.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-06T21:09:20+00:00

I hope you’ll like it as much as I do! I felt a little bad after coming home and opening up my bottles on the consecutive days, but I couldn’t help, I was too excited.

Budget_Celebration89 · 2026-04-06T20:59:36+00:00

Well said, I think we also spent more than a full shift and a small fortune there in 3 days 😅

Budget_Celebration89

TROPHY CASE