Glen Scotia has unveiled its 2023 special release for the Campbeltown Malts Festival (23–24 May), a yearly celebration of the distillery's home region.
The release is an 11-year-old lightly peated single malt that was finished for 12 months in white port casks. In a first for Glen Scotia, the packaging will feature a QR code that lets those who cannot attend the festival be virtually transported to Campbeltown for the digital Glen Scotia Whisky Experiment experience.
Shot in Glen Scotia's dunnage warehouse and around the town, the video sees award-winning spirits writer, TV presenter, and OurWhisky founder Becky Paskin guide audiences to pour a dram and consider how its aroma and flavour are influenced by the experience's visual prompts and music.
Paskin is joined in the experiment video by Glen Scotia master distiller and distillery manager Iain McAlister, with whom she partnered for an in-person Whisky Experiment at the 2022 Campbeltown Malts Festival.
"The idea behind the Glen Scotia Whisky Experiment is guided by the way our sense of taste is dictated by the environment we’re in; so, what we taste in our glass will be affected by our setting, and Campbeltown is a fantastic place to recreate," Paskin said. "This is a chance to rip up the rule book on traditional whisky tasting notes, have an open mind, and find new possibilities, which is the most exciting part – drams can be completely re-imagined."
Of the festival bottling, McAlister said: “This year’s Festival Release is another superb limited edition that showcases the scope of what Glen Scotia can offer. The white port cask finish provides something interesting and different for us, while still maintaining that wonderful fruity, robust, and subtly saline Campbeltown signature profile."
The Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival Release (54.7% ABV) is available online at glenscotia.com and through specialist retailers globally priced at £65.
The digital Whisky Experiment is not the only artistic partnership Glen Scotia is launching at this year's festival. It is also launching 'The Sound of Glen Scotia', an artistic collaboration between whisky writer Neil Ridley, folk singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon, and music producer Dean Honer to capture the sounds of the distillery and its home town.
The trio created their two-track musical journey using sounds from the distillery – including the banging of casks, barley deliveries, mills and stills running, and even microphones in casks of whisky – with original vocals from Shetland-based artist Sturgeon and an acoustic instrument score. The tracks will be unveiled alongside a specially produced music video at an immersive exhibition in the distillery's warehouse during the festival. A limited-edition vinyl will also be available to purchase from the Glen Scotia website from the end of May.
Nick Bradley, brand manager at Glen Scotia,said: “Every year ahead of the festival, Glen Scotia invites an artist or artists to collaborate with the team in Campbeltown, to see the distillery and our home through their eyes and artistic medium. Our greatest hope is this can give whisky lovers all over the globe a flavour of our home.
"I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with these incredibly talented musicians and watch this extraordinary project come to life. It is a testament to the power of music and its ability to capture the essence of a place and its people, and the fusion of music and whisky is a truly unique way to bring our distillery and whisky-making region to life."
Find more information about the Campbeltown Malts Festival at glenscotia.com.
The release is an 11-year-old lightly peated single malt that was finished for 12 months in white port casks. In a first for Glen Scotia, the packaging will feature a QR code that lets those who cannot attend the festival be virtually transported to Campbeltown for the digital Glen Scotia Whisky Experiment experience.
Shot in Glen Scotia's dunnage warehouse and around the town, the video sees award-winning spirits writer, TV presenter, and OurWhisky founder Becky Paskin guide audiences to pour a dram and consider how its aroma and flavour are influenced by the experience's visual prompts and music.
Paskin is joined in the experiment video by Glen Scotia master distiller and distillery manager Iain McAlister, with whom she partnered for an in-person Whisky Experiment at the 2022 Campbeltown Malts Festival.
Glen Scotia master distiller Iain McAlister with Becky Paskin in the distillery's dunnage warehouse
"The idea behind the Glen Scotia Whisky Experiment is guided by the way our sense of taste is dictated by the environment we’re in; so, what we taste in our glass will be affected by our setting, and Campbeltown is a fantastic place to recreate," Paskin said. "This is a chance to rip up the rule book on traditional whisky tasting notes, have an open mind, and find new possibilities, which is the most exciting part – drams can be completely re-imagined."
Of the festival bottling, McAlister said: “This year’s Festival Release is another superb limited edition that showcases the scope of what Glen Scotia can offer. The white port cask finish provides something interesting and different for us, while still maintaining that wonderful fruity, robust, and subtly saline Campbeltown signature profile."
The Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival Release (54.7% ABV) is available online at glenscotia.com and through specialist retailers globally priced at £65.
The digital Whisky Experiment is not the only artistic partnership Glen Scotia is launching at this year's festival. It is also launching 'The Sound of Glen Scotia', an artistic collaboration between whisky writer Neil Ridley, folk singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon, and music producer Dean Honer to capture the sounds of the distillery and its home town.
Dean Honer and Neil Ridley capturing sounds at the distillery for "The Sound of Glen Scotia"
The trio created their two-track musical journey using sounds from the distillery – including the banging of casks, barley deliveries, mills and stills running, and even microphones in casks of whisky – with original vocals from Shetland-based artist Sturgeon and an acoustic instrument score. The tracks will be unveiled alongside a specially produced music video at an immersive exhibition in the distillery's warehouse during the festival. A limited-edition vinyl will also be available to purchase from the Glen Scotia website from the end of May.
Nick Bradley, brand manager at Glen Scotia,said: “Every year ahead of the festival, Glen Scotia invites an artist or artists to collaborate with the team in Campbeltown, to see the distillery and our home through their eyes and artistic medium. Our greatest hope is this can give whisky lovers all over the globe a flavour of our home.
"I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with these incredibly talented musicians and watch this extraordinary project come to life. It is a testament to the power of music and its ability to capture the essence of a place and its people, and the fusion of music and whisky is a truly unique way to bring our distillery and whisky-making region to life."
Dean Honer, Neil Ridley, and Jenny Sturgeon, the artists behind "The Sound of Glen Scotia"
Find more information about the Campbeltown Malts Festival at glenscotia.com.
