Campbeltown Loch

The Maker

In the two decades I’ve been drinking whisky I’ve rarely bought anything other than single malt. Sure, I began with some awful blended whiskies from behind the bar that I pretended to like with friends, but from pretty much day one I’ve been a single malt drinker when it came to buying bottles for home. But a lot has changed since the mid-2000s. Back then my student self was able to claim Yamazaki 18 as my preferred 'treat' whisky with it being under £80 in Duty Free. In those days your average decade old single malt was about £30 at full price, and the idea of having to go to auction to get something was unheard of.

Obviously I now sound like an old man complaining that life was so much better in the past – despite being under 40. In truth the prices were better, but often the choice wasn’t. Nonetheless, the idea of getting a Yamazaki 18 today is beyond contemplation with retail prices peaking at £950, and auction prices hovering around £500. It simply isn’t worth anything close to that. Meanwhile core range single malts are increasingly heading north of £70 for bottles that might well have been under £50 just a few year ago. This trend is certainly leading many drinkers to become more promiscuous in their purchasing choices.

In response we are seeing the rise of the Blended Malt category. Unlike Blended Scotch, or Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt contains no grain spirit. In other words it’s all malt. Just like a single malt. But rather than being blended from a single distillery, it’s from two or more. Historically there haven’t been a huge amount of these on the market. Easily the most famous example is Johnnie Walker Green (sometimes also branded as a 15 year old) which is a blend of Talisker, Linkwood, Cragganmore and Caol Ila. Even in today’s expensive market you can still pick up a bottle of JW Green for less than £50. Compare that to what it would cost to get a 15 year old whisky from each of its constituent distilleries, and it’s easy to see how blended malts can offer a more cost effective option for the price sensitive consumer.

Campbeltown Loch has shot to fame in this regard for one simple reason: the fact that it’s put together by J & A Mitchell of Springbank Distillery. I’ve written extensively about Springbank in previous reviews so I won’t repeat that here. Instead, it suffices to say that it’s often considered the best Scotch there is, and getting hold of it makes getting tickets to Glastonbury headliners look easy – and cheap. The reasons for this are multifaceted, but are mainly due of the quality of what they are putting out, and the growth of ‘investment purchasers’ chasing profits as the whisky bubble grows. Hopefully the bubble is about to deflate somewhat (my own experience of whisky buying in the UK suggests it's slowly happening), but until then it’s often the case that Campbeltown Loch is the only Springbank release that you can easily find on the shelves of whisky shops.

But in this case it’s not just Springbank and its four whisky brands (if you include Kilkerran) that makes up Campbeltown Loch. It also contains some spirit from the neighbouring Glen Scotia. I’ve also written about Glen Scotia in the past so again won’t repeat that in this review. But while it might be the Booster of Campbeltown (for those with a love of 1990s Schwarzenegger cinema), it still has a strong and growing reputation for making fine whiskies in increasing demand.

The name however, isn’t a new invention. Campbeltown Loch is the name of an old blended scotch (apparently with a 60% grain component of unclear origin) that was produced by Springbank for many years. Given how saturated the internet now is with reviews of this new version, it’s hard to find a great deal of information about its ancestor. However, the decision to revive the brand with this new malt only makeup speaks volumes about the changes referred to above that the whisky marketplace has been going through in recent years. Indeed when this was first released in 2021 prices went crazy. There were times where this was being traded on the secondary market for well into three figures. Thankfully that has all calmed down and pretty much anyone who wants some (at least in the UK) is now able to pick it up at retail price.

The Expression

As mentioned above this is a blended malt which contains all five of the malt brands produced at Campbeltown’s three active distilleries. The precise make-up of each batch is different and as far as I am aware has never been fully revealed, other than to say it’s always a mix of bourbon and sherry casks. However, some people in the know have let certain things slip out. For example we know from staff at Springbank tasting sessions that the first releases were dominated by Glen Scotia. This particular batch is from October 2022, which rumours online from similar sources suggest is actually at least 60% unpeated Kilkerran malt. Beyond that I am unsure, but suspect Glen Scotia is always going to making up more than the three Springbank distillery based brands. As with all Campbeltown Loch batches it is bottled at 46%, is non chill-filtered, and of natural colour.

The Neck Pour

Very sweet on the nose. Lots of barley sugar and straw. If I didn’t know otherwise I’d even suggest that there was a hint of grain in there. There’s also a sharp celery note to it which I often find with some whiskies which isn’t very far away from fennel seeds. I could not help but open this alongside the last few drams of a Springbank 15, just to see how different it was knowing that there’s at least some Springbank blended in. In truth on smell alone they are a world apart, which is hardly surprising. The Loch is naturally much harsher and clearly younger. Just how young I’m unsure, but I would not be surprised to learn that the vast majority of this is eight or younger. For me this nose is not particularly pleasant at this stage. It’s just too sweet, edging towards pink bubble-gum. But perhaps I’m being unfair given the competition I set it by having the SB15 open next to it.

In terms of taste what’s dominating this first dram is the sugar. It’s a big punch of sweet burnt caramel, maybe too much. If anything it’s like it’s a young whisky that’s been blended to hide it. But the longer it’s in the glass the better it gets. As my palate acclimatises the dram heads towards a medium finish and some of those rounded oily notes that Springbank and Longrow are known for. At this point the oak char presents itself, and finally a light peat smoke. It’s all very slight at this point, but works so well to elevate what an uncertain start.

The Body

Over time notes I associate with Longrow and Kilkerran have become stronger. There’s an addition of a sharp citrus note on the nose which throws the balance off slightly.

The taste is now much more balanced. Citrus is coming though and is working well with a pleasant oiliness. Towards the end there’s a growing peat smoke which functions well to round the whole thing out. On the finish the oak char is still there, but the vanilla is mellowing and is seemingly being replaced by a lot more ginger.

I’m liking this a lot more in the second third than I did in the first. So much so I entered this into my tasting club and it was judged to be the best of the night up against other blends. To me that confirms that while this still might be a little harsh, within its own ‘weight category’ it still does rather well.

Final Thoughts

As I finish the bottle I think that the weak link in this bottle might well be the Glen Scotia element. There’s plenty of great whisky from Glen Scotia, but it can be challenging at times, and benefits from a level of aging well in excess of what I suspect has made its way into this blend. For me that raw oak char can be a bit too much otherwise. In contrast, when this whisky works it’s those classic Kilkerran and Longrow flavours which elevate it. Again this might be my own bias here as I happen to think that those two brands are the best Campbeltown has to offer.

But I don’t want to sound too negative about this whisky. I like this to the point where I’ve already got a replacement bottle on the shelf. To my great surprise my new bottle is again from the October 2022 batch. It came from the same online retailer over a year later, so it’s amazing to think that it has sat on that shelf all that time given how crazy the whisky community went for this release just a few years ago. I guess it shows how quickly people move on.

While good in its own right, this whisky can’t help but be seen as less than the sum of its parts. But that’s mainly because those parts are some of the best whiskies around today. In short it just leaves me wanting a dram of one of them instead. Of course the key difference is that this is now widely available, whereas the others often require far more effort than seems sensible. I guess that means that if you live in a part of the world where this is the only Campbeltown you can get, it might well scratch that itch. Conversely, it might just end up making your craving even worse.