There are the big festivals, and then there are the festivals that the real ones know. Sure, you’ve been to Glasto but you only get nods of approval if you’re just back from End of the Road; in comedy, there’s the Edinburgh Fringe – but the real ones go to Machynlleth in Wales. And, as far as whisky festivals go, you can follow the crowds to Islay’s Fèis Ìle or be cutting edge and opt for the Campbeltown Malts Festival (19-24 May 2025).

Campbeltown is a small town, known as the Wee Toon, towards the end of the Mull of Kintyre peninsula beloved of Paul McCartney. Often though, rather than mists rolling in from the sea, it is bright sunshine in this weird west coast microclimate – especially towards the end of May. Despite its remoteness by land, it has traditionally been very handy for the sea – for receiving grain and coal from around the British Isles and then sending its whisky to Glasgow and beyond. 

In Victorian times, there were up to 30 distilleries here at any stage. There are now three – Glen Scotia, Springbank and Glengyle – plus two independent bottlers, Watt Whisky and Cadenhead’s. But don’t let these numbers fool you into thinking Campbeltown has fallen on hard times. In fact, three more distilleries are on their way to opening. 

For now, there is a real feeling of a gathering of friends at the Campbeltown Festival – you are likely to bump into a master distiller in one restaurant or master blender in a hotel bar because there are few to choose from in this neat little town (Ardshiel Hotel is the pick). And over the course of a few days, you can get to know these distilleries really well. 

People love a whisky map that defines styles of whisky by region – and Campbeltown is regarded as a region (because of those many, many distilleries of old). But if anyone gives you the definition of Campbeltown style, you can be sure it’s wrong, because there is no one style.

That is demonstrated by the Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival Edition 2025 release. Aged nine years, it is a heavily peated malt with a finish in Ribera del Duero red wine casks. Some distilleries have a “week of peat” – seven days (just before the annual shutdown for cleaning the still) in which they allow the sticky, tar-like phenols of a smoke-dried barley into the system. Glen Scotia has four weeks of peat.

Heavily peated this whisky may be, but it doesn’t have the medicinal tinge of many of the malts from across the sea on Islay. It first stuffs a fruit salad chew up the nose, so juicy are the tropical and berry fruit aromas. The smoke is, at first, in the background – like charring on grilled peaches hidden under salted caramel. The whisky is smooth and oily on the tongue and the full-on bonfire smoke arrives retro-nasally. But it writhes around blackberry and chocolatey sumptuousness – a sweet and smoky treat that wears its cask strength lightly. A little water actually releases more challenging and complex notes – the bitter-sharp-sweet combo of lemon quarters thrown on the barbecue. It’s a celebration of Campbeltown’s quirkiness fitting for a celebration.

Glen Scotia is hosting its day at the festival on Wednesday 21 May with events including a tasting of the components which make up the distillery’s best known expression, Victoriana, an exercise in recreating the whisky of 150 years ago; and a glimpse into the future – tasting of new-make spirit made from locally grown barley, which will not be released as whisky for several years to come. There are further guided tastings and tours, musical performances and other entertainment on the main stage. If you can’t face the beautiful but long three-hour drive from Glasgow, Loganair has two flights a day. 

Glen Scotia’s Campbeltown Malts Festival Edition 2025 (£68; 54.3% ABV) is available online and at specialist retailers. Tickets for Glen Scotia festival events can be booked via the distillery website.

glenscotia.com