Glen Scotia distillery or sometimes affectionately known as The Scotia or Old Scotia is a distillery that is a producer of single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery was founded in 1832 in Campbeltown, Scotland.
History
Glen Scotia Distillery was founded in 1832, and has been operating for approximately one hundred and eighty years. Situated in Campbeltown, one of the recognised 5 Whisky producing regions of Scotland, the distillery has a formidable pedigree. Campbeltown is a small town on the Kintyre Peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. It is affectionately known as the “Wee Toon”, and the Victorian Whisky Capital of the World. At its peak in the 1800s, there were 21 distilleries in this small town with approximately 170 distilleries operating at that time in the UK Campbeltown still has 3 operating distilleries: Glen Scotia, Springbank, and Glengyle. These distilleries give a remarkable insight into the history of making whisky in this remote, once prolific, whisky making region of Scotland. Glen Scotia was formerly known as 'Scotia' when it was first founded in 1832 by Stewart & Galbraith and Company. Stewart & Galbraith Co. ran the Distillery for almost 60 years. Notable industrialist Duncan MacCallum purchased the distillery in 1891 and he constructed the large frontage which run along High Street. In 2014, the distillery was bought by Loch Lomond Group who have invested heavily in the site with the majority of the engineering work planned out and managed by the distillery manager, Iain Mc Alister. Glen Scotia currently operates with a staff of just nine employees. It is believed there is one manager, one shop manager, and five distillery operators. Glen Scotia is one of the smallest in Scotland. The current annual production levels stand at around 500,000 liters and following significant investment is expected to rise above that.
Product Range
The new revamped Glen Scotia range has been simplified down to five core Single Malt expressions:
Double Cask - 46% ABV
15 Year Old - 46% ABV
Victoriana - 51.5% ABV
18 Year Old - 46% ABV
25 Year Old - 48.8% ABV
These have all been created to keep to an authentic 'Campbeltown Malt style' culminating in the Victoriana where the distillery has aimed to re-create a modern interpretation of classic Victorian Campbeltown Malt. Glen Scotia Distillery also regularly produces 'special' bottlings to celebrate local events, such as the centenary anniversary of the localCampbeltown Picture House. At the 2015 Campbeltown Malt Whisky Festival, the distillery launched a Single Cask Distillery Edition with 197 bottles coming from a single cask and only made available from the distillery shop in Campbeltown.
Equipment
Glen Scotia has 1 Wash Still and 1 Spirit Still and 9 Stainless Steel Washbacks. The washbacks that Glen Scotia originally had were more than 40 years old and were made out of Corton Steel. A new boiler is soon to be installed within the distillery.
Investment
The distillery has been fully refurbished including renovation and re-lacquering of the two stills as well as the Dunnage warehouse being expanded and renovated to allow the ageing of the whisky to be completed on site, exposing the casks to the unique salty sea air from the West Coast of Scotland. The shop area has been totally renovated with the addition of a tasting area on the site to allow visitors to purchase whisky at the Distillery and visitor tours will be possible by prior appointment. In addition to the recent improvements, the general managers office has been relocated to the originally, old managers office and a new canteen has also been built adjacent to the managers office. A new boiler is also being invested in to replace to the outdated boiler that is currently being used.
