{"id":7981,"date":"2017-06-05T08:29:21","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T07:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/?p=7981"},"modified":"2017-06-05T08:29:21","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T07:29:21","slug":"campbeltown-whisky-region-almost-gone-silent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/campbeltown-whisky-region-almost-gone-silent\/","title":{"rendered":"Campbeltown, a whisky region almost gone silent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scotland is traditionally divided into 5 Scotch whisky regions –<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lowlands<\/strong>, where you\u2019ll find amongst others the triple-distilled Auchentoshan<\/a> or the popular Glenkinchie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Highlands & Islands<\/strong>, home of world-famous & more confidential distilleries such as Ben Nevis, Glenmorangie<\/a>, Old Pulteney<\/a>, Clynelish<\/a>, Balblair<\/a>, Dalwhinnie<\/a>, Highland Park<\/a>, Arran<\/a>, Tobermory<\/a>, Talisker<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n

Speyside<\/strong>, the golden triangle of malt where half of all Scottish distilleries are located, big names include Macallan<\/a>, Glenfarcla<\/a>s, Glenfiddich<\/a>, Glenlivet<\/a>, Aberlour<\/a>…<\/p>\n

Islay<\/strong>, which you may be familiar with if you\u2019re into the peaty side of whisky (although the island also offers some exquisite non-peated whiskies) with the likes of Ardbeg<\/a>, Bowmore<\/a>, Lagavulin<\/a>, Kilchoman<\/a>, Caol Ila<\/a>, Bunnahabhain<\/a>, Bruichladdich<\/a> & Laphroaig<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2026 And, Campbeltown<\/strong>, which despite its status as an official Scotch whisky region only hosts 3 remaining distilleries\u00a0: Glen Scotia<\/a>, Springbank<\/a> (also producing Hazelburn<\/a> & Longrow<\/a>)<\/em> and Glengyle (Kilkerran<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

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But did you know that Campbeltown used to be the center-stage of whisky production back in the days, counting more than 30 distilleries, sometimes even referred to as \u00ab\u00a0the whisky capital of the world\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes you read that right, while the production of whisky is meant to date back to the late 15th century (first written evidence of whisky was recorded in 1494 at The Lindores Abbey in Fife)<\/em>, the success of the amber nectar had to wait until the early-1800s when the economic situation and new distilling methods allowed the category to grow and thrive on a commercial point of view.<\/p>\n

During this fascinating and golden period, Campbeltown became a go-to hotspot for famous blenders such as Johnnie Walker who came to the region to source distillates for their popular blends. At that point, the southwestern Scottish region counted more distilleries than Speyside but I dare anyone to name more than 10 of those\u00a0? Sadly, the whisky industry in the region died as fast as it rose\u2026 By the next century, economic & political difficulties as well as the Prohibition era in the United States forced most of the distilleries to close their doors and only 2 remained in activity by 1935\u00a0: Springbank<\/a> and Glen Scotia<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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And the history got worse\u2026 Campbeltown almost lost its \u00ab\u00a0Scotch region<\/em>\u00a0\u00bb status around the turn of the 21st century, told by the Scotch Whisky Association that 2 distilleries couldn\u2019t make a region.<\/p>\n

Campbeltown\u2019s distillers would then do everything in their power to revive their whisky industry and keep their territory on the whisky map, claiming their rich whisky heritage. As history alone wasn\u2019t enough, in 2004, they therefore managed to re-open an old distillery, now known as The Glengyle Distiller<\/strong>y (producing Kilkerran malts<\/a>)<\/em> and bringing the number of distilleries to 3, exactly the same amount as there were at that time in the Lowlands (Glenkinchie, Auchentoshan & Bladnoch).<\/p>\n

Campbeltown secured its place\u00a0on the whisky map and the rest is history!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_______________________________________<\/p>\n

Today, demand for Campbeltown\u2019s single malts has been rising again and we\u2019re more than excited to organise our first-ever Campbeltown themed whisky auctio<\/a>n on Catawiki. The auction ends on Saturday 10th June from 20.00 CET.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This article was first published on Catawiki Stories<\/a><\/p>\n

Pic credits: The Whisky Exchange<\/a>,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scotland is traditionally divided into 5 Scotch whisky regions – The Lowlands, where you\u2019ll find amongst others the triple-distilled Auchentoshan or the popular Glenkinchie. The Highlands & Islands, home of world-famous & more confidential distilleries such as Ben Nevis, Glenmorangie, Old Pulteney, Clynelish, Balblair, Dalwhinnie, Highland Park, Arran, Tobermory, Talisker\u2026 Speyside, the golden triangle of malt where half of all Scottish distilleries are located, big …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[899],"tags":[1386,376,1391,1388,1390,1389,44,1387,1392,36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7981"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7981"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7987,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7981\/revisions\/7987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}