Springbank Distillery...

Springbank Distillery is unique. It is the oldest independent family owned distillery in Scotland. Founded in 1828 on the site of Archibald Mitchell's illicit still, the Springbank Distillery is now in the hands of his great-great grandson, Hedley G. Wright. It is the only distillery in Scotland to carry out the full production process on the one site. 100% of the traditional floor malting, maturation and bottling is done at the distillery in Campbeltown.

The Distillery produces the most hand made whisky in Scotland, with traditional production methods being used throughout the process, and human involvement at each and every stage. It is the only distillery in Scotland to have never chill-filtered, nor do we add any artificial colourings to any of our single malts. It is also the only distillery in Scotland to produce three different single malts, Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn, using three different production methods.

For most of the 17th and 18th century, Campbeltown was a prominent smuggling centre. Following the Excise Act of 1823, taxes were reduced to such an extent that legal distilling at last became competitive against smuggling.

This really was the beginning of the golden years for Campbeltown distillers, who hastily began applying for licences. Campbeltown saw a total of 34 distilleries established during the boom of the 19th century and subsequently became known as "Whisky Capital of the World."

However, the levels of production were so high that it was inevitable the bubble would burst. The early part of the 20th century saw changes which had a detrimental effect on the Campbeltown whisky trade.

Overconfident in their Glasgow monopoly, some Campbeltown distillers became complacent, putting the emphasis on quantity, not quality, which led to the production of inferior spirit. This, coupled with post-war economic depression and prohibition in the United States, took its toll and by 1930 only three distilleries survived. Rieclachan closed in 1934, leaving only Springbank and Glen Scotia.