About Springbank Distillery
Springbank Distillery stands in Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula. The official chronology dates it to 1828, when a licensed distillery was built on the site of an illicit still used by Archibald Mitchell. The modern concern therefore has a documented legal foundation while acknowledging a predecessor activity that should not be assigned the same status.
Its unusual feature is not age alone but integration: the company malts all of its own barley on traditional floors and carries milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation and bottling through on the Campbeltown site. Three separate single malts - Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn - use the same plant with deliberately different peat and distillation regimes.
History
Archibald Mitchell had been involved with nearby Rieclachan before Springbank's establishment. His sons John and William took ownership in 1837; John later brought his son into the business that became J. & A. Mitchell. William left to establish Glengyle in 1872, placing two neighbouring distilleries within the same extended family history.
Campbeltown grew into a major Victorian distilling centre, but falling quality among some producers, changing blending preferences and wider economic shocks brought a severe contraction after 1900. By 1934 only Springbank and Glen Scotia remained active in the town. Springbank's own production was intermittent during difficult periods, and the company describes the 1980s as sporadic rather than pretending uninterrupted full output.
Regular production resumed in 1989. Longrow had first been distilled at Springbank in 1973 as a heavily peated, double-distilled make, while unpeated, triple-distilled Hazelburn followed in 1997. J. & A. Mitchell also revived neighbouring Glengyle, where Kilkerran spirit first ran in 2004, but Glengyle remains a separate distillery even though the businesses share ownership and resources.
The Mitchell family link continued through long-serving chairman Hedley G. Wright. After his death in 2023, ownership was placed in three trusts and a family member joined the board. This is continued family stewardship through a modern trust structure, not an assertion that ownership arrangements have remained legally unchanged since 1828.
What makes it distinctive
Barley is steeped and spread across Springbank's malting floors, where it is turned by hand. Kilning changes according to the make: Springbank uses lightly peated malt, Longrow is more heavily peated and Hazelburn is dried with hot air without peat. This creates three raw-material specifications before the liquid reaches the shared equipment.
Fermentation can extend to about 110 hours, developing fruit, acidity and complexity before distillation. The stillhouse contains a wash still, low-wines still and spirit still. Springbank uses a two-and-a-half-times process, Longrow is double distilled and Hazelburn is triple distilled. The wash still retains direct firing, adding another production difference from many steam-heated plants.
Casks are filled, matured and bottled in Campbeltown. Bourbon and sherry wood form important parts of the range, with rum, port, wine and other casks used for selected releases. On-site control does not mean one fixed maturation recipe: the three makes and their individual bottlings use wood in different proportions and sequences.
Whisky character and significance
Springbank itself often combines malt, orchard or tropical fruit, light peat, oil, mineral notes and a maritime dryness. Longrow pushes smoke and weight further, while Hazelburn emphasises clean fruit and creaminess. These contrasts are especially useful because they arise from documented production choices within one distillery rather than from three unrelated regional stereotypes.
Springbank's significance lies in its survival through Campbeltown's collapse and its retention of labour-intensive processes at a commercially active site. That does not justify romantic claims that nothing has changed: production schedules, ownership structures, releases and equipment maintenance have evolved. The value is the traceable continuity of skills and place.
Visiting Springbank Distillery
Bookable tours and tastings can cover malting, production and warehousing, subject to the working calendar. Current formats should be checked directly. Because different malts are made in campaigns and equipment may be idle or under maintenance, a visit cannot guarantee every process will be active.
Location and surrounding area
Campbeltown's harbour, surviving warehouses, Glen Scotia and nearby Glengyle help explain a town that once held many more distilleries. Reaching southern Kintyre takes substantial road time, so Springbank is best planned within a dedicated stay rather than a hurried diversion from central Scotland.
- Whisky region
- Campbeltown
- Location
- Well Close, Campbeltown, PA28 6ET
- Visitor information
- Check the official website for current tours, tastings, access and booking arrangements.
Further information
Visit the official Springbank Distillery website
Springbank: official production process
Springbank: official distillery information