It’s not just another whisky festival. Campbeltown is a little hidden gem — once you visit, I can assure you, you’ll be back (whether your liver likes it or not).
You don’t just stumble upon Campbeltown. You come with intention. And more often than not, that reason is our world-class whisky. But I like to think it’s not just about what’s in the glass , it’s the true spirit of the town that keeps people returning, year after year, from all corners of the world.
The people of Campbeltown are the heart of it all. Warm, quick-witted, and full of character. They’re proud of their town, quietly so, and fiercely protective of its charm. Once you’ve shared a dram, a laugh, or even just a passing chat on the street, you’ll understand it’s the people, as much as the whisky, that keep you coming back.
There’s no performance here. What you see is what you get. Conversations come easily, humour is never far away, and there’s a natural way of making visitors feel like they’ve been part of the town for years… even if they only arrived that morning.
It’s real. A bit like our whisky, we don’t try to be anything we’re not. There is one thing, though, the forever changing weather. It will keep you on your toes that’s for sure, but that’s the west coast for you. Today’s rain is tomorrow’s whisky, after all.
Locals can spot a whisky fan a mile off. Usually teetering down Longrow, clutching a little brown or white bag, bottles gently clinking, and wearing that unmistakable merry glow, a sure sign that the festival is in full swing.
A little word of warning, tread carefully on the drams as the measures are a little bigger than you find in the cities. Campbeltown has a funny way of getting you into trouble in the best possible way.
The Malts Festival is one of the biggest dates in the calendar. This will be my fifth-year attending, and every year it changes, growing a little more each time. Some may say they preferred the “good old days” when things felt less commercial, but times move on, I suppose. As long as the whisky and the people remain at its heart, I’m happy to see it evolve.
And while things grow and shift, something very important never changes, the familiar, smiling faces you see year after year. You know who you are. That’s what makes it for me. I can truly say I’ve met lifelong friends through this wee festival, right here in the heart of Campbeltown usually somewhere between the second dram and “just one more for the road.”
And that, for me, is what makes the Campbeltown Malts Festival so special, it captures not only the spirit of the whisky, but the true spirit of the place, and the people who make it.
Sláinte
Cheryl x
