Glen Scotia unveils ‘Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025’ limited edition whisky

Multi-award winning Campbeltown distillery, Glen Scotia has revealed its 2025 Festival Edition in celebration of the Campbeltown Malts Festival, the annual event which draws whisky lovers from around the world to discover the region’s rich whisky-making heritage.

The Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 release is a charmingly unconventional dram, in keeping with Glen Scotia’s yearly festival bottlings, which are renowned for bringing bold and intriguing flavours and creating an element of surprise.

The new 9-year-old single malt is heavily peated, a unique offering from Glen Scotia which dedicates just four weeks each year to its peated spirit production.

After being fully matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, the whisky has been finished for five months in the finest Ribera del Duero red wine casks, directly sourced from the prestigious wine-making region in Spain.

This process results in vibrant flavours of ripe red fruits, juicy blackberry and a whisper of liquorice, each layer adding to the whisky’s complex character. Glen Scotia’s distinctive maritime style is also present, unfolding with notes of creamy vanilla overlaid with rich peat smoke.

The Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 edition also returns with a unique on-pack experience, offering an insight into the distillery and the incredible journey to Campbeltown that makes the festival so special each year.

By scanning the on-pack QR code, fans will be able to experience the magical journey to the ‘Wee Toon’ with three of Scotland’s top travel influencers as they embark on the beautiful voyage to the distillery’s Campbeltown home.

Whisky lovers will have the chance to join Chris Lawlor (@chrispaullawlor) who was voted Scottish Travel Influencer of the Year 2024, Graeme Johncock (@scotlands_stories) and Barbara Gajewska (@discovermyscotland) as they travel the remarkable Kintyre peninsula by foot, sea and road.

Available to purchase online and in specialist retailers globally, Glen Scotia’s Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 release is non-chill filtered, bottled at cask strength (54.3% ABV) and retails for £68.

Iain McAlister, Glen Scotia master distiller and distillery manager, said: “This year’s Festival Release promises a unique experience that will transport you straight to Campbeltown with your first sip. As well as delivering the maritime and salinity notes synonymous with Glen Scotia, this whisky also provides an element of surprise as it develops on the palate. The finish brings a bold burst of vibrant flavour from the Ribera del Duero red wine casks which is a distinctive pairing with the heavy peat.

“The virtual on-pack experience also offers something really special this year – our remote home on the Kintyre peninsula makes for a wild and beautiful journey that not everyone is able to take. Now people can experience what it’s like to make the spectacular journey to Campbeltown with a selection of Scotland’s top travel content creators.

“There’s no better way to savour a dram of this year’s limited edition single malt than by embarking on an unforgettable journey, whether by road, foot, or sea and we look forward to welcoming Glen Scotia fans who are making this journey to join us at the 2025 Campbeltown Malts Festival.”

Glen Scotia’s events at this year’s Campbeltown Malts Festival (20 and 21 May) will see some of its finest drams poured and will celebrate the town’s past as the former ‘Victorian Whisky Capital of the World’. The distillery will present a range of both ticketed and free events which celebrate the region’s rich history and connection to its distilling past.

Among the Glen Scotia experiences on offer, visitors will have the chance to explore the components of the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 edition during a deconstructed tasting with Global Brand Ambassador Gary Mills. They will also be able to celebrate a decade of Glen Scotia’s world-famous Victoriana single malt with an in-depth tasting hosted by Master Blender Ashley Smith. Finally, guests will discover the magic of the Glen Scotia Dunnage Warehouse in an exclusive tasting with Master Distiller Iain McAlister.

For further information on the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2025 bottling or this year’s festival, visit: www.glenscotia.com/

Tasting notes:

Nose: Swirling peat smoke, coastal salinity with creamy vanilla.

Palette: Vibrant juicy blackberries and red fruits with luscious oils.

Finish: Soft smoke with a velvety mouthfeel.

About Glen Scotia

Distiller Glen Scotia has been producing single malt whisky in Campbeltown since 1832 and is one of three surviving distilleries in Campbeltown.

Producing peated and non-peated whiskies, the distillery still maintains much of its original design, including the stillroom and the dunnage warehouse dating from the 1830s. To this day, the distillery team follow in the footsteps of their founders, using traditional methods, carefully creating the subtly maritime Campbeltown style the brand has become world-famous for.

Recognition of Glen Scotia’s style and craftsmanship continues to be acknowledged globally.

• In 2021, Glen Scotia’s 25-Year-Old single malt was awarded ‘Best In Show Whisky’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Over 3,800 entries across thirty-one categories were judged with Glen Scotia being awarded the overall winner across all countries and styles. Only seven months later, Glen Scotia was also named Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year at the Scottish Whisky Awards 2021.
• In 2022, Glen Scotia’s Victoriana won ‘Best In Class’ in the Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch – No Age Statement category at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
• In 2023, Glen Scotia won ‘Best Single Cask Single Malt’ at the World Whiskies Awards for a single cask bottling distilled in 2009 and aged for 13 years exclusively in a first-fill bourbon barrel.
• Later that same year, Glen Scotia’s 25-Year-Old won a coveted Platinum award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023, which is awarded to the very few entries that receive a Double Gold medal for three consecutive years at the prestigious global event.
• In 2024, Glen Scotia received a number of prestigious awards across its range of single malt whiskies, including Platinum titles at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2024 for both Glen Scotia Victoriana and Glen Scotia 25 Year Old.