Glen Scotia Distillery has unveiled its 2025 Campbeltown Malts Festival Edition, a heavily peated 9-year-old single malt designed to celebrate the annual festival that draws whisky enthusiasts to Scotland’s once-thriving “Whisky Capital of the World.”
The limited release showcases Glen Scotia‘s rare peated spirit production, which occurs for just four weeks each year at the Campbeltown distillery. This unconventional expression was fully matured in first-fill bourbon barrels before receiving a five-month finish in Ribera del Duero red wine casks from Spain.
Bottled at cask strength (54.3% ABV), the non-chill filtered whisky retails for $81 (£68) and is available through specialist retailers globally.
Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 Edition
The 2025 edition continues Glen Scotia’s tradition of creating surprising festival bottlings with bold flavor profiles.
“This year’s Festival Release promises a unique experience that will transport you straight to Campbeltown with your first sip,” said Iain McAlister, Glen Scotia master distiller and distillery manager. “As well as delivering the maritime and salinity notes synonymous with Glen Scotia, this whisky also provides an element of surprise as it develops on the palate. The finish brings a bold burst of vibrant flavour from the Ribera del Duero red wine casks which is a distinctive pairing with the heavy peat.”
According to tasting notes, the expression offers swirling peat smoke and coastal salinity with creamy vanilla on the nose, followed by vibrant juicy blackberries and red fruits on the palate, concluding with soft smoke and a velvety mouthfeel.
Interactive Experience Takes Fans to Campbeltown
This year’s release features an enhanced on-pack experience through a QR code that allows whisky lovers to virtually journey to Campbeltown alongside three of Scotland’s top travel influencers.
The digital experience follows Chris Lawlor, Scottish Travel Influencer of the Year 2024, alongside Graeme Johncock and Barbara Gajewska as they traverse the Kintyre peninsula by foot, sea, and road.
“Our remote home on the Kintyre peninsula makes for a wild and beautiful journey that not everyone is able to take,” McAlister explained. “Now people can experience what it’s like to make the spectacular journey to Campbeltown with a selection of Scotland’s top travel content creators.”
Campbeltown Festival Celebrations in May
The Campbeltown Malts Festival, scheduled for May 20-21, 2025, will feature numerous Glen Scotia events celebrating the town’s rich whisky heritage.
Visitors can participate in a deconstructed tasting of the 2025 Festival Edition led by Global Brand Ambassador Gary Mills, celebrate a decade of Glen Scotia’s Victoriana single malt with Master Blender Ashley Smith, and experience an exclusive tasting in the Glen Scotia Dunnage Warehouse with Master Distiller Iain McAlister.
The distillery will host both ticketed and free events during the two-day celebration, all focused on Campbeltown’s history as the former “Victorian Whisky Capital of the World.”
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