26/05/2019 Campbeltown tour

Today, adc and I go distillery hunting. We are forced to halt, due to the weather, but manage to resume in the afternoon, with JS, this time. We cover twenty-eight out of thirty-seven -- yay! It is impressive what a bit of preparation does. :-)
We take no picture of Springbank, Glen Scotia or Longrow, however. We unfortunately never find Balegreggan, Drumore or Glenramskill, which are all further afield. The other three are very difficult to find information about. My preparation did not successfully cover them. Also, I can find no map without copyright. The bird's-eye view is not provided, this time.

Here once stood West Highland distillery (1830--1860)

The first site of Argyll distillery (1827--1844)

Caledonian distillery (1823--1851) (not the one in Edinburgh, obviously) 

Mountain Dew, aka Thistle (?--1837)

The White Hart, where Alfred Barnard stayed, in 1885

Burnside distillery (1825--1924) is now Cambpeltown Creamery

The site of Meadowburn (1824--1918) is the creamery's parking lot

Springside (1830--1926)

Ardlussa (1879--1927), now McFadyen's Contractors' yard

Glen Nevis (1877--1923) remains in recognisable shape

Glen Nevis's warehouse's painted gate still faintly mentions the name of the distillery

Glengyle (1872--1925) resumed operation in 2004

Hazelburn (1796--1925) is now offices

The second site of Argyll distillery (1844--1923)

The Fiddler's Inn used to be the office of Kinloch distillery (1823--1926)

A wall of the Campbeltown distillery (1815--1924)

This wall was probably part of Lochside distillery (1830--1852) (not the one in the East Highlands, of course)

This yard *might* be the back of Lochside distillery

Benmore (1868-1936) is now a bus depot, but remains very recognisable

The site of Lochhead (1824--1928) is now the local Tesco, which hints at its past with a roof shaped like a malt barn

A wall of short-lived Mossfield (1834--1837) remains

Passage to Toberanrigh (1834--1860)

This wall was almost certainly part of Toberanrigh

Dalintober distillery (1832--1925)

This was built on the site of Lochruan (1833--1925)

Going back towards Benmore under more clement skies

This cottage even has a plaque to commemorate Broombrae (1833--1834), which stood here

Highland distillery (1827--1852) used to be here

And Kintyre (1825--1921) right next to it

This townhouse sits where Dalaruan (1824--1922) once was

This one has a plaque that reminds one it was built on the site of Glenside (1830--1926)

This gate was once Albyn's (1830--1927)

This warehouse, now used by Springbank, was part of Rieclachan (1825--1934)

I will never manage to open this one, whilst in Campbeltown

Back in for a dram, now.

Meadowburn 12yo (40%, Eaglesome Campbeltown Commemoration, b. ca. 1985): nose: dusty hay, clay floor and dunnage warehouse, very old staves, custard and a drop of vinegar. Later, it is squashed berries and apricot compote. Another excellent drop from this outstanding collection. It becomes more buttery at second sniff. Mouth: milky and acidic, it has grape-y milk, almond milk and almond skins, a pinch of ground pepper, dusty staves and nutmeg, powered by more kick than the ABV suggests. Finish: custard, grape jelly, grape turnovers, squashed apricot. Behind all that sweetness, there is a mellow bitterness at the death -- almond skins and grape pips. The second sip displays more wood spices (nutmeg, dried ginger), though the fruit remains. Another winner! 8/10

Lochhead 12yo (40%, Eaglesome Campbeltown Commemoration, b. ca. 1985): nose: this one is more generous, with walnut stain, polished dashboards, then more and more lush fruits (poached quince, hints of purple passion fruit, stewed plum), pickled with caramelised walnut. Next up is new leather, then clay floor, almond skins and hot pastry, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Mouth: chilli-augmented custard, warm apricot jelly, hot paprika, tomato stems -- actually, tomato chutney (not ketchup!), rubbery plant leaves (not sure which species). Finish: wonderful balance between the spice (chilli and hot ginger) and the fruit (stewed plum, stewed quince, baked mandarin). This finish is long, warming, comforting. Just what we need, after a windy, shower-rich day in Campbeltown! Perhaps the spices linger on for a bit too long to make me crave more than one dram, but that does not detract from the quality of the juice. 8/10

Springside 12yo (40%, Eaglesome Campbeltown Commemoration, b. ca. 1985): nose; another fruity number, with wheelbarrows full of citrus (boiled grapefruit, preserved limes and lemons, bergamot, including the leaves), fresh fish on the fishmonger's stall, with ice, parsley, lemon and the lot. Do not read me wrong, though: the dominant is that assertive fruitiness. When I say that, I mean: 1970s-Springbank or 1992-Longmorn levels of fruitiness. Is is that exuberant. Orange jam, boiled peach. Towards the end, custard-y turnovers also appear, citrus-y and vaguely metallic (think: old knitting needles). Mouth: buttery and rich, this one has puff pastry written all over the palate, with icing sugar, apricot jam and acidic lemon marmalade. It feels less citrus-y than the nose, though it remains fruity. It is also rather salty on the tongue, bringing back memories of the nose's fish notes. Finish: wow. Mellow and lush, citrus-y, without being too acidic, the finish brings softer , more plump citrus (satsuma, mandarin and nectarine, not entirely a citrus, all well ripe), as well as salty elements (salted herrings, sardines, not quite all the way to anchovies). Only the mouth, which is a little less impressive, prevents this from reaching top marks. That nose was unbelievable, though. Amazing dram. 9/10

Time for the three 'S'. Shower, shave and Scotia.

93.31 16yo 1992/2008 Cigar boxes and fish crates (65.5%, SMWS Society Cask): I have poured this all Friday. Fuller notes can be found here. Nose: salty, iodine-y, and chock-full of maritime notes, balanced with leathery, farm-y tones of ploughed fields, hay bales and cow dung. Funnily enough, that odd combination is exactly the smell of Campbeltown, over the past four days, so it feels not only natural, but right. Mouth: sharp and chilli-infused, with dried mud and straw, stampeded pastures, old-school smoke and fishing nets. Finish: huge, long, with similar notes and a smoked-herring mouthfeel that taints the back of the throat and feels rather medicinal. Whacky, but great dram, very entertaining. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, PS)

That concludes our Campbeltown adventures for this year.

And of course, it always rains, here.