Springbank: Campbeltown’s Cult Distillery
Springbank is a survivor, one of Campbeltown’s three remaining distilleries which endured the decline of Scotland’s historic whisky capital. Springbank is the only distillery in Scotland to malt, distil, mature and bottle on site, and is highly regarded for the consistent quality of its whisky, which has attained cult status among collectors and enthusiasts.
Among the Campbeltown malts, Springbank’s medium-peated whisky combines touches of sweet citrus fruits with briny notes and a light oily texture. The Springbank distillery actually produces three contrasting styles of whisky, also distilling the heavily peated Longrow and non-peated Hazelburn malts, both named after lost Campbeltown distilleries. A combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks are primarily used for maturation, although Springbank also experiments with a mix of refill, wine and rum casks to accentuate Springbank’s malt style and produce limited editions.
From 1987, Springbank has focused on the growing single malt market producing a core range, alongside cask strength bottlings and annual limited releases of Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn expressions with a variety of cask finishes. As Springbank distills and releases its whisky in limited quantities bottlings of older editions and limited releases are highly sought among the whisky community.
If you were one of the lucky Springbank enthusiasts who purchased a cask from them in the 1990s then those casks are now very valuable.
A Distilling Dynasty
Founded in 1828 by William Reid, Springbank became the fourteenth licensed distillery in Campbeltown. First referenced as a site for whisky production in 1591 and a haven for illicit distillers and smuggling by 1601, Campbeltown would become the centre of Scotland’s whisky industry after the passage of the 1823 Excise Act. Springbank was built on the site of a previously illicit distillery operated by William Reid’s in-law Archibald Mitchell. A distilling family, the Mitchells were involved with a number of Campbeltown’s distilleries as Archibald Mitchell and his brother Hugh were partners in the Rieclachan distillery from 1825, while their sister Mary Mitchell built the short lived Drumore distillery in 1834. William Reid encountered financial difficulties, selling Springbank in 1837 to his in-laws and Archibald’s sons John and William Mitchell.
In 1838, whisky blender John Walker recognised the increasing demand for Campbeltown whisky and Springbank’s growing profile purchasing 118 gallons of Springbank malt. William Mitchell left Springbank to found Campbeltown’s Glengyle distillery in 1872, while John’s son Alexander Mitchell joined his father to run the Springbank distillery. When the Victorian writer and distilling historian Alfred Barnard visited Campbeltown in 1885, he toured 21 distilleries including Springbank proclaiming Campbeltown to be ‘Whisky City’. A fast sea crossing to Glasgow combined with a local coal source drove Campbeltown’s whisky boom, and by 1887 the 21 Campbeltown distilleries were producing 9 million litres (2 million gallons) of whisky a year. In 1887, Springbank’s owners established J. & A. Mitchell Co Ltd to secure the Mitchell family’s future ownership of Springbank.
Campbeltown’s Decline
Campbeltown’s whisky industry and distilling trade rapidly collapsed in the 1920’s. A number of factors influenced Campbeltown’s demise. Demand for the traditional Campbeltown style of heavy and oily malts started to fall among blenders, who increasingly favoured lighter Speyside malts. Additionally, local coal supplies were exhausted driving up fuel costs as the world recession reduced demand for whisky. Finally, Campbeltown would be impacted by the effects of American Prohibition. Many distilleries ruined their reputation by producing hurried whiskies for the US. They ran the stills too fast in order to quickly distil large quantities of low-cost spirit. This poor-quality whisky provoked the collapse of Campbeltown’s whisky industry as blenders looked elsewhere for malts of consistently better quality, leading to many closures among the Campbeltown distilleries.
Springbank was one of the distilleries that survived by adapting. They altered production methods in 1900 to produce a lighter whisky that was sought by blenders. The new style was not as heavily peated as its traditional competitors, thanks to the use of coal to dry the malt (rather than burning peat). Despite this, the continuing economic depression would force Springbank to temporarily close in 1926, before returning to production in 1933. The permanent closure of the Rieclachan distillery in 1934 would leave Springbank and Glen Scotia as the only operating distilleries in Campbeltown.
Springbank: Campbeltown Survivor
After the demise of Campbeltown’s larger whisky industry, Springbank still continued to produce its whisky traditionally by malting all its own barley, using local peat and distilling the spirit two and a half times. From 1960, Springbank closed its own maltings and used bought in grain.
As Springbank was an isolated independent distillery with its own under utilised bottling line, in 1969, J. & A. Mitchell Co Ltd purchased the independent bottler and spirit merchant firm Cadenhead. Although operated as separate enterprises, both Springbank and Cadenhead would use the Springbank distillery bottling line. In 1970, Springbank bottled a 50-year-old single malt whisky distilled in 1919 – an extremely limited release of only 24 bottles.
Springbank would respond to the rising demand for peated malts in the 1970’s by producing an Islay style malt, named after the neighbouring Longrow distillery which closed in 1896. Longrow was first distilled in 1973, and is double distilled from heavily peated malt producing a rich, smoky whisky.
Springbank was temporarily mothballed in 1979, as a downturn in the whisky market and the 1980’s ‘whisky loch’ prompted distillery closures across Scotland. During this period, Springbank continued to sell whisky and the first bottling of Longrow was released in 1985.
Springbank: A Cult Whisky
Springbank resumed intermittent production in 1987, before returning to full production in 1989. On reopening, Springbank’s owner Hedley Wright (John Mitchell’s great-great grandson) made the decision that Springbank would focus on the developing single malt market. In 1992, Springbank revived its onsite floor maltings to use only Springbank’s own malt, and becoming the only self-sufficient malt distillery in Scotland.
Hazelburn, a triple distilled non-peated whisky with a subtle light and fruity character, was first distilled at Springbank in 1997. The original Hazelburn distillery which operated from 1796 until 1925, was an immediate neighbour of Springbank.
In 2000, Hedley Wright began the revival of another Campbeltown distillery by purchasing the site and structures of William Mitchell’s Glengyle distillery which had closed in 1925. The rebuilt Glengyle distillery reopened in 2004, distilling a sweet and floral lightly peated malt bottled as Kilkerran. The restored Glengyle was the first ‘new’ distillery in Campbeltown for over 125 years, which alongside Springbank’s growing status as a cult whisky distillery would ensure Campbeltown was once again recognised as a distinct whisky region. Springbank temporarily closed for six months in 2008 to refurbish and build new warehousing at the distillery site, before returning to full production in 2009.
Springbank has a maximum capacity of 750,000 litres, although only produces approximately 15% of this amount annually. In 2019, 275,000 litres were produced of which 10% was Longrow, and 10% was Hazelburn. By distilling and releasing its whisky in limited quantities, Springbank has attained cult malt status amongst collectors.
Alongside limited production Springbank also experiments with a mix of cask types and sizes across its Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn styles to produce a range of limited editions. Limited releases have included Springbank Local Barley and Springbank Rundlets & Kilderkins, which used small barrels for maturation enhancing wood contact to develop complex flavours. An annual limited release is the Longrow Red expression, which is bottled at cask strength and every year a different type of red wine cask has been used for maturation. As a cult whisky Springbank releases will remain highly sought, while the Springbank distillery continues to lead the survival and renewal of the Campbeltown whisky industry.
