Campbeltown Loch - there's plenty of Whisky...

The Springbank distillery in Campbeltown is a rare beast in that it’s one of the few manufactories of the water of life that take total control over the whole process, including creating the malt that goes into their delightful products.

The barley is spread across the malting floor and loving turned until it starts to germinate, at which point it is gently embellished with the fragrant peat smoke from their drying kiln.

Go on a tour – it’s truly a step back to an age when the production of this golden fluid was still more of a craft than a pure science, ruled by computer managed valves and processes.

It’s a lovely old site, decently ramshackle with signs of love and attention throughout, as well as an air of conspiracy as the workforce roam about purposefully, chuckling and sucking in lungfulls of angel’s share.

You can also combine the tour with a wander around the almost adjacent Glengyle distillery – a modern start-up owned by Springbank’s (utilising ancient sheds). Apparently it’s only there because Springbank were told that in order to retain the classification as a distinct whisky “region” (like a French AOC or Italian DOC), the target location would in future have to have at least 3 distilleries and Campbeltown was down to 2 and didn’t want to be lumped in with Islay!

The whisky is well worth the effort – book through Cadenhead’s and you can taste both distilleries’ outputs at cask strength, as well as which you get to pocket a miniature.

The Springbank was fruity and very well balanced, with just enough peatiness and smoky character to make it interesting without the appalling medicinal jag of some of the Islay malts. It’s a splendid whisky – well worth sampling and settling down with.

The Glengyle (branded Kilkerran as perversely someone else owns the Glengyle brand!) was more simplistic and much less satisfying, seeming much thinner on the palate.