Glen Scotia to bring new whisky festival to Luss this spring
Campbeltown distillery Glen Scotia is bringing the spirit of Scotland’s smallest whisky making region to Luss this spring with a new two-day whisky festival.
The ‘Glen Scotia Mini Malts Festival’ (16–17 May) is a smaller, more intimate counterpart to the distillery’s annual Campbeltown Malts Festival, a fixture in the global whisky calendar.
Attendees can enjoy Glen Scotia’s impressive portfolio of single malt whiskies while discovering how the distillery creates its signature character through a series of experimental tastings inspired by its latest releases.
Taking place at Luss Distillery – the newly opened state-of-the-art spirits destination of Loch Lomond Group (owners of Glen Scotia, Loch Lomond Whiskies and Ben Lomond Gin) – the event is a more accessible alternative for those unable to make the trip to the “wee toon”, being located under an hour from Glasgow.
The venue will be transformed to create a mini Campbeltown, with a Glen Scotia pop-up bar offering drams of this year’s Festival Edition bottling and a selection of exclusive single cask releases from the Campbeltown Malts Festival in recent years, which are highly limited and much-loved drams selected by Master Blender, Ashley Smith.
There will also be two unique tasting sessions:
- A ‘Deconstructed Campbeltown Malts Festival Release 2026’ – an in-depth tasting exploring the individual components of the annual limited-edition festival release, unearthing its distinctive flavour profile and what makes it such a sought-after dram.
- The ‘Big Campbeltown Character Tasting’ – a chance to discover Glen Scotia’s signature style through a guided tasting of its hero 12 Year Old expression, highlighting its characterful tropical fruit and coastal spray flavours, and exploring the elements that give it its distinctive oily texture.
Master Blender for Glen Scotia, Ashley Smith, said:
“Glen Scotia has established itself on the global stage, but while our whisky is full of big character and big ambitions, our home and our people remain at the heart of everything we do, so it felt only right to offer a wee taste of the Campbeltown Malts Festival in our new Loch Lomond brand home.
“Across the two days, attendees will have the chance to explore this year’s Campbeltown Malts Festival limited-edition whisky, meet our small team of big characters, and enjoy an exciting flavour of the main festival’s atmosphere.”
For further information about Glen Scotia visit https://www.glenscotia.com/
Tickets for Glen Scotia’s Mini Malts Festival at Luss Distillery are available via https://lussdistillery.com/pages/seasonal-events
Distiller Glen Scotia has been producing single malt whisky in Campbeltown since 1832 and is one of three surviving distilleries in Campbeltown. To this day, the distillery team follow in the footsteps of their founders, using traditional methods to create the subtly maritime 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.
- In 2025, Glen Scotia was awarded several notable industry awards across its core range whiskies including Glen Scotia Double Cask Rum being named the best Campbeltown non-age statement whisky, as well as winning platinum accolades for Glen Scotia 15 and 25 Year Old, and gold for Glen Scotia Victoriana at the San Fransico World Spirits Competition 2025.
- That same year, Glen Scotia 15 Year Old was also awarded gold at the International World Spirits Competition.
