I got you a whisky review for Christmas. You’re welcome.

Last week was a week of Glen Scotia festival releases (2023, 2022 and 2021). We’ll stay in Campbeltown to close out the month and year but move to the more prominent company in the region. Cambeltown Loch is put out by Springbank. Once a name slapped on an old-style blended whisky (i.e malt+grain), the reinvented version Campbeltown Loch (as of 2022, I think) is a vatting of Springbank’s own Hazelburn, Longrow and Springbank malts along with Kilkerran from Glengyle, and, yes, malt from Glen Scotia as well. It is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and sherry casks. I’m guessing that means it’s a vatting of spirit from ex-bourbon and sherry casks; though I suppose the maturation could have happened post-vatting as well—if you know which it was, please write in below. The other remarkable thing about is that it is quite reasonably priced, even in the US. In the UK it goes for £40—or it did: apparently it all sold out very quickly there. In the US it appears to still be available in many markets and, as per Winesearcher, can be found for as little as $54 in the US, which is pretty low compared to what we have to pay here for pretty much everything else from the distillery (though in some states it does go for quite a bit more). Anyway, let’s see what it’s like.

Campbeltown Loch (46%; from a bottle split)

Nose: Lime, brine, a bit of mineral peat, some cracked coriander seed. Some tart-sweet apple as it sits. With water there’s a bit of vanilla but otherwise it’s more or less in the same vein.

Palate: Comes in exactly as indicated by the nose. A very good drinking strength; good texture. A little sweeter as it goes but generally continues as it came in. As it sits, the smoke gets a little sootier and the salt expands. A few drops of water push the smoke back a bit and bring out more of the lime and the brine.

Finish: Long. The salt and the mineral peat are on top here, picking up some cracked pepper as they go. As on the palate with water at first but the peat comes back at the end.

Comments: A very solid daily drinker. Given that four of the five constituents are from the Springbank-Glengyle family, it’s no surprise that this is solidly in that Springbank-Longrow-Kilkerran peat continuum. I would guess there are some sherry casks in the mix

Rating: 85 points.