Glen Scotia 8 Year Peated PX Cask Finish
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke in early 2020, one of its countless casualties was the shuttering of events to help minimize the spread of infection. The 2022 Campbeltown Malts Festival was the first one to be held since 2019 and like many other whisky festivals, special bottlings were released to mark the occasion. While Campbeltown only currently maintains three operating distilleries within the region and thus does not have quite the footprint as, say, the Feis Ile, the enthusiasm of all attendees and participants more than makes up for it. Glen Scotia was founded in 1832 by Stewart & Galbraith and Company. It has passed through several owners over the centuries and was most recently purchased by the Loch Lomond Group in 2014. While there are currently five core expressions, the Glen Scotia 8 Year Peated PX Cask Finish was matured for seven and a half years in American first fill bourbon barrels before spending another year finishing in Pedro Ximénez hogsheads.
Bunnahabhain Toiteach
Bunnahabhain was founded in 1881 and was for its first several decades only received supplies by sea. Interestingly, the village of Bunnahabhain itself was founded to house the workers for the distillery, making the two even more intertwined than is often the case. Word began to spread after an actual road was put in during the early 1960s and production expanded. The name of the distillery in Gaelic means “Mouth of the River”. In 2003 the distillery was purchased by Burn Stewart, which is currently folded under Heineken Beverages. The Bunnahabhain Toiteach breaks a little from tradition in being lightly peated, as the distillery is generally more known for making unpeated whisky. Toiteach is pronounced “toch tach” and means “smoky” in Gaelic. It has since been replaced by the Toiteach A Dhà but you can still find the original floating around in stores on occasion.
Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve
Glenrothes was founded in 1879 through the work of James Stuart, a local Rothes businessman who began the construction of the distillery, and the Reverend William Sharp, who secured the remaining funds after Stuart was forced to step aside for financial reasons. Though a series of fires, explosions and world events hampered production at times, the distillery has been making whisky for over 140 years for a variety of owners. Much of the Glenrothes stock is aged in ex-sherry casks and some ex-bourbon casks, but like many distilleries, they like to experiment. The Glenrothes Peated Cask Reserve was part of a now discontinued series from 2016 that saw whisky from their 1992 stock finished for a few months in (unnamed) ex-Islay casks. Apparently this was inspired by an association from the 19th century the distillery had with the Islay Distillery Company.