Today’s post and review of Campbeltown Loch concludes my series exploring Blended Malts. From fruit-laden drams, to smoky peat blends, it has been fun and confirmed my conviction that blends are a great source of value. I am sure I missed plenty; if you have a favourite you would like to suggest, please drop a note in the comments.
This post also comes with a warning. If you are a Springbank fan, you might disagree with some of the thoughts I am about to share about information transparency. There is no intention to offend anyone. To misquote “The Dude”: It’s just my opinion, man. I hope, however, this might help to see another point of view. I think that in today’s whisky scene, Springbank is lagging when it comes to transparency. You might not care. But if we believe consumers have the right to certain information from producers, we should expect it even more from the ones carrying the torch of quality whisky.
TL:DR: A great value Campbeltown blend… but shouldn’t we expect better information from Springbank?
Score: 6.5-7 Very good stuff, or close to it. Your mileage is likely to vary with the batch profile.
What is Campbeltown Loch
I would usually go through a bit of an introduction before getting to the review of the Campbeltown Loch, but for once, I’ll hold off on my comments till after the review. Most of what I want to discuss relates to how different batches can be. Comparing them first makes more sense. If you are new to Campbeltown Loch, all you need to know is that this blended malt is made using all 5 single malts produced by Springbank (Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn), Kilkerran and Glen Scotia. Nothing is shared regarding the proportions of the single malts, their age or the specific casks used for each of them.
Campbeltown Loch Blended Malt
Specs
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: not stated
Non-chill filtered: not stated
Blend components: A mix of all five malts from Campbeltown’s three distilleries, matured in a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks. No information on the actual blend composition is provided.
Lot: 23/122
Price paid: €45.37
Tasting Notes
Colour: Rich amber
Nose: Intense, complex and rich. Some mild floral Longrow peat and rich tropical fruity notes are immediately noticeable. Then a marked sherry character takes over with nuts, red berries, raisins, dried figs and a hint of baking spice. As the dram opens up in the glass more saline and calcareous maritime notes emerge. In the background, there is some vanilla, a hint of mocha, and a little bit of workshop funk.
Taste and finish: The texture is oily, with medium intensity. It is slightly hot, coming off a bit young. The taste is led by malt notes, with smoky peat, and grilled pineapple at first. Then the Sherry takes over: toffee, raisins and a bit of baking spice
The finish is quite long with notes of raisin, tropical fruit, caramel, winding down on a hint of peaty ash and a slightly bitter close.
Score*: 6.5, Good stuff, verging on very good
The sherry and Longrow peat are definitely noticeable in this batch. It is rich, intense and complex, but doesn’t fully come together as a blend. It is also a bit youthful. And even with those imperfections, it remains a very enjoyable dram.
Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points.
Lot 22/150 (sample)
Tasting Notes
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: As intense as the 2023 lot but playing predominantly on Bourbon-related notes. The nose has a lovely elegant complexity. It is full of orchard fruit, banana, maritime notes, breakfast cereal creme brulee, vanilla, pine nuts and a slight lactic funk. There is a hint of peaty ash, and a touch of star anise and rosewater.
Taste and finish: oily, very intense. The first impression is maritime, to the point of almost being salty. The savoury briny notes are balanced by rich orchard fruit, peach, golden syrup, a hint of smoke, and to close a little malt and vanilla.
The very long finish is all peaches and vanilla, maritime notes and a slightly bitter taste on the finish.
Score*: 7, Very good stuff
An elegant, complex rich interpretation of Campbeltown played on maritime and ex-bourbon notes and spirit-driven aromas. Compared to the 23/122 batch it is less tropical and sweet, but more cohesive and elegant.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Would I buy it again?
I am sure Campbeltown Loch will remain a permashelf item in my cabinet. I will be keeping an eye open for lighter batches though, I prefer the more bourbon-forward version, and quite a bit at that. A bit more transparency, see below, would help.
Would I offer this to a new whisky drinker?
After this review of Campbeltown Loch, I am convinced this is the best entry-level example of Campbeltown. Instead of chasing Springbank 10 or Kilkerran 12 (easier to find in some markets), I would suggest new drinkers buy a bottle of Campbeltown Loch as a first approach to the Campbeltown character. Be mindful of pricing though. I have seen some crazy prizes when travelling outside of Europe.
Batch variability or different whiskies?
Let’s get one thing straight immediately. I love Campbeltown Loch as a whisky, even with its completely different profiles from batch to batch. It is not only a great blended malt, but probably the best entry to Campbeltown on the market. Be it more Bourbon-forward or Sherry-heavy, the Campbeltown signature character is undeniable. What I dislike, is the lack of information and transparency. Brands like Ardnamurchan, or to remain in the Blend space, Compass Box and Turntable, are providing a level of information which I would love to see more distilleries embracing. Labelling and blending information are there to help the consumer and in this specific case, Springbank is severely behind.
Let’s start with the blend differences in taste and nose. Truth be told, I struggle to call them batch differences. If someone had blinded them, I would have guessed they were two completely different whiskies. There is a common underlying Campbeltown maritime character but that is about it. Would I love to know the exact blend composition, with clear info on cask ageing and age? Absolutely. On the other hand, I can understand that, given Springbank’s desirability, there would be a risk of a certain type of whisky geek hoarding batches with more Springbank inside. That would defy the point of having an affordable Campbeltown blend, with a risk of shops and private sellers trying to profiteer as we see with Springbank.
I would like to have at least a hint of the flavour profile I am about to buy. One solution could be to follow a similar model to what Kilkerran does with its 8-year-old cask strength, where the cask finish is clearly stated. If each batch of Campbeltown Loch gave us at least the split of cask ageing (say 65% Sherry, 35% Bourbon) it could inform us as consumers better and allow us to choose based on our taste preferences.
Does basic transparency matter?
Then there is the basics. If you look at other reviews online, you will find pretty much every review stating this is a non-chill filtered and no colouring-added whisky. And yet there is no information regarding colour or filtration on the bottle (see the pics earlier in this post). There is no related info on Springbank’s own webpage for Campbeltown Loch either. I made a similar comment previously on Springbank’s Longrow Peated NAS, which mentions the lack of filtration but nothing regarding colouring.
Sure the batch colour difference alone points to an obvious lack of added colour. And Springbank is notorious for not chill-filtering. And yet, how many times have you heard the phrase “if it’s not on the label (or packaging, I would add), there is no guarantee”? How many times, when you see a Diageo bottle without any information on added colour you immediately conclude that E150 has been added?
The argument I usually hear in defence of Springbank fundamentally relates to the fact that we trust this distillery for its reputation and track as a stalwart of traditional whisky production methods. I can sympathise with this opinion, but I strongly disagree with it. If anything I think we should hold Springbank to higher standards. And we cannot expect all consumers to be “in the know”: labels should work for everyone be it whisky geeks or not.
As much as I enjoy Springbank’s whiskies, I hope to see some steps towards better consumer information in the future… though I am not holding my breath for it
Stay tuned for another controvertial opinion on Springbank and marketing…
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions.
Here are a few other reviews of the Campbeltown Loch I enjoyed:
Dramface 2021 batch & 2022 batch
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